The Good the Bad and the Funnie
by Kitty Kadaveral
Summary: Roger invites Judy to a western themed party. Not exactly their cup of tea, but Roger's up to something. Contains some mild language and sexual suggestion.
1. Default Chapter

::Roger Klotz, the very rich and obnoxious bully of Boogerton Heights, stood in front of the full length mirror that hung on his closet door, checking out his black western attire. He sported a black hat resembling one Zorro would wear, pointed black boots, a smoke coloured low cut long sleeved shirt with a bolo tie, a black leather vest, and a pair of black jeans that were much tighter then he expected or remembered, but they would do just fine in any case.  
  
Nodding in approval, Roger ran his fingers along his vest and smirked. "Ooh, Klotz, you look sharp!" he commented to himself. "This sure is gonna be one night to remember." Indeed it was for Roger had a date with Judy Funnie, the eccentric and moody sister of his "pal" Doug. Roger and Judy have been casually dating for a while now, but it was never serious enough to raise questions or eyebrows.  
  
Tonight, however, Roger's plan was to finally take their relationship in a very big and bold direction. He constantly felt Judy's reluctant resistance to his advances, but perhaps he was going about those ways all wrong. Judy couldn't be bedded by a smart assed punk which Roger was just about every waking moment. She also wasn't impressed by phony prima donnas or someone who only pretended to have the same likes and interests she does. No, she liked reality in a person or really good play acting.  
  
Tonight Roger was going all out in portraying a western character that was both suave and seductive, not to mention polite. He had to have her already for he was done playing games as his desires were constantly being teased by her. Judy was the type of person to bring someone to believe something was going to happen and then when the move would be made she would suddenly become distracted with something else. Roger was endlessly victim to those deeds so cruelly dealt out by Judy and tonight he hoped to turn those advances and teases into reality.  
  
In just a few minutes he was going to be inside of his limousine heading off to Judy's house. He invited her a few weeks ago to join him in this huge country styled celebration a rich friend of his was having. The activities were to include hay rides, horse back riding, square dancing, and lots and lots of food. It wasn't exactly something he was particularly interested in, but he figured it would prove to be a different and hopefully romantic night out with the girl he was totally in love with. When he first mentioned the party to Judy she gave him such a look that he thought she was either going to laugh at him or shoot him down, but instead she graciously accepted.  
  
It had seemed like forever for that day to arrive and now that it was here Roger was nervous, but yet so full of himself he didn't let his anxiety show. Roger leaned closer to the mirror to examine the slight moustache he was attempting to grow. It was there, though barely even noticeable, but he got the idea to grow one a little too late to make a difference now. Still, to him, it was acceptable. Smiling, Roger preened his tiny whiskers more and then smoothed out his vest and shirt sleeves getting more and more conceited over his looks. He puffed out his chest and smirked, "If Judy doesn't notice how hot I look then she is totally oblivious to the obvious." Roger blinked at his sudden use of big words. "Joeycookamonga, where'd that come from?"  
  
"Roger? Roger, honey, the limo just pulled up. Are you ready?" his mother called from downstairs.  
  
Roger scowled at being distracted from his self-admiring. However, a sly grin crept across his face as the thoughts of what was waiting for him flooded into his brain. "Oooh yeah," he gestured the okay signal to himself in the mirror then turned to leave his room. He then casually made his way down the stairs, the dull clunk of his boots echoing through the halls.  
  
Edwina Klotz stood at the bottom of the stairs proudly watching her son. She was glad Roger was finally dating and showing interest in other items besides money or things associated with the usual rich scenes. Although the event Roger was going to attend this evening was being put on by a rich friend, it wasn't by far the same snob fest that is usually thought of for a gathering in a mansion. Roger, on the other hand, could care less what she or anyone else thought. Rich was rich in his opinion no matter what they did.  
  
"Well, well, well, look at how handsome you are!" Edwina exclaimed, fussing over her son by straightening his bolo tie and brushing off any lint from his leather vest.  
  
Roger wrinkled up his nose in a grimace and tried pulling from her, but she yanked him back. "Stop squirming and let me get a good look at you. My, your little girlfriend is sure going to bust her buttons when she gets a load of you!"  
  
He winced, "Maa-ommm! Quit it! You're talking like a sap!"  
  
Edwina just had to laugh. She knew how much Roger liked Judy and she knew how much more he liked being complimented, but like any young man compliments only sounded sappy when coming from their mother. "Well, you go and have yourself a good time. Just be on your best behaviour and treat her nice."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I know," he then ducked a kiss she tried to plant on his forehead and he slipped out the door, down the steps, and to his white and gold limousine which was patiently waiting for him. Giving his mother a wave good-bye, Roger entered the limo and slammed the door. "Remember where we're going?" he snarled to the chauffeur while crossing his arms in front of his chest.  
  
"Yes, Master Klotz," the driver replied, disinterested. Soon as the limo began to pull out of the drive way, Roger lapsed out of his tough guy mode and actually began to sweat. He was truly nervous about this entire thing and only hoped he could pull it off.  
  
In the Funnie household things were just a little bit different. Judy, like Roger, was getting ready, but unlike the preening Roger she was more down to perfection and balance. However, like Roger, she was all decked out in blacks except for the pale blue blouse that was under her black suede vest. She also had on a short black suede skirt that went down to just above her knees and black suede boots that had little tasseled fringe on the sides. When Roger first invited her she almost said no because it just sounded so mundane and boring, but the more she thought about it the more she figured it might just be interesting.  
  
Somehow, though, Doug found out about this little date and from that day all he did was torment his sister about it. He feared everything about her going out with the rich bully because he knew what bad news Roger could be. Judy and Roger seemed to have a relationship going on in the first place, but they never said much about it. They always were spending long hours alone, but when confronted by it they would either deny it or just give a nasty answer.  
  
Judy sighed and shook her head as she began to apply some light make-up. Stupid people would never learn to mind their own business, she thought. Her brother could be so lame. Just then there was a soft knock on her bedroom door. "Come in," she snapped, slamming her hands on her dresser. "How can I ever get ready with all these interruptions?"  
  
Almost as if on cue and as if he knew she was thinking about him, Doug opened the door and walked in. Judy groaned and rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Dougie? I'm trying to get ready for my outing!" she snapped.  
  
"You mean date, don't you?" he replied under his breath. Before Judy had a chance to reply, Doug continued. "Ummm...are you sure this is a good idea? I mean you and Roger alone for so long and so late at night, I mean...ahhhh..."  
  
Angrily grinding her blush brush against the soft powder, Judy answered, "Sorry to disappoint you, mother, but this is just a friendly little outing. Nothing more nothing less so just stop your preaching."  
  
"Friendly outing? Judy, you're going out with Roger and he's anything but friendly! You should hear what he's been bragging about in school ever since you accepted this invitation. He's going on and on about what he's wearing and what his plans are for you. Trust me, Judy, this is not a good idea."  
  
She shook her head and turned to glare at him. "We are just friends, Douglas!"  
  
"Oh yeah? Then how come I saw the two of you making out by the side of his limo a few times when he'd bring you home at night? Is that what 'just friends' do now?"  
  
She felt her cheeks suddenly redden. "You little snoop! Why I ought to..." she trailed off and stopped. He wasn't even worth the bother and besides she had to finish getting ready. "Nevermind...it's none of your concern where I go with Roger or what I do with him. Now, if you don't mind, please leave, I have things I must complete before he arrives."  
  
"But, Judy..."  
  
"Begone, twerp, or I shall not be responsible for my actions and will tell mom and dad you won't quit annoying me!"  
  
With a defeated sigh Doug left Judy to her task. He almost felt like he was sending a poor innocent virgin into the clutches of a sinister dragon. Well, chances are after tonight she wouldn't be a virgin anymore, he concluded, leaning against the wall. Doug had heard a few comments made by Roger about this date tonight and Doug only feared the worst. He honestly didn't think Judy would allow things to go that far, but the kisses Doug had seen she and Roger involved in made him think otherwise.  
  
Judy put the finishing touches on her make-up, grumbling angrily about the nerve her brother had in telling her she shouldn't be going out with Roger. "Annoying little plebeian thinking he can tell me who I can..." she stopped when she heard Roger's limo's trademark horn of La Cucaracha blare outside. "Oh great, he's here!" Hurriedly, Judy finished herself, grabbed her black cowgirl hat and sunglasses and bolted out the door hoping to get downstairs before Doug stuck his nose into any more of her business.  
  
However, much to her dismay, Doug had already got to the door and had it opened and was trying to talk to an already very annoyed Roger who was no doubt that way due to Doug's stupidity.  
  
"Step aside little brother, you have no place here. Now, begone!" Judy shouted as she stomped down the stairs.  
  
"Yeah Funnie, am-scray before I forget I'm in the presence of a lady," Roger snarled giving Doug a rough shove aside to allow Judy her exit from the house.  
  
Once on the stoop, she looked Roger up and down and smiled at him. "My, how striking you look."  
  
"Yeah, yeah," he blushed and held his arm out for her to link with him. "Shall we be off then, my lady?"  
  
She nodded and together they made their way towards the limo. Roger opened the door for her and helped her inside, but before he joined her he turned towards Doug, who was still standing in the doorway, and put his thumb to the end of his pointed nose and wiggled his fingers making Doug about fume for he knew what that hand signal meant. "Sayonara sucker!" Roger called out then climbed into the limo after Judy, slamming the door behind him. Doug shook his head and sighed and only hoped that his sister would be all right. If something happened, he would be there to support her, regardless if she came to him or not.  
  
In the limo, Judy sat against the seat massaging her temples and saying a small mantra to calm her nerves. Roger, on the other hand, was just snickering as his mind had shifted to obnoxious bully mode, totally forgetting his true goal for tonight's date. "Heh, maybe we should just go back and annoy your brother for this. You know, teach him a lesson for interfering?"  
  
"Absolutely not!" Judy cried and shot him a look behind her sunglasses that made him jump back against the seat. "You and I are going to that party and we will have a good time and not have to worry about my idiotic brother."  
  
Roger flinched and shrank farther against the seat and looked out the window. They were only together for five minutes and she was already steamed at him. He then got an idea and thought that maybe impressing her with his subtle growth of whiskers would get her out of her foul mood. Leaning close, Roger said suavely, "What do you make of this, girly? I did it just for you for tonight."  
  
Judy blinked behind her sunglasses and just stared blankly at Roger pointing at his upper lip. She furrowed her brow and reached forward with her thumb and index finger and deftly plucked out the single orange hair that seemed to stand out above the rest. "There, seems like you missed that nasty bugger while shaving. Don't worry, I got it for you."  
  
Giving out a muted yelp, Roger clamped his hand over his mouth to stop the shout and curses he felt welling up in his throat. Instead he forced himself to mumble through clenched teeth, "What the heck did you do that for?"  
  
She shrugged, "You missed a spot and I thought I'd get it for you. You didn't want me to do that? I would think you'd be grateful that I was looking out for your better interests. After all, going to a rich gala affair you have to look your best, n'est-ce pas? A rogue hair certainly would tarnish the sleek image you are trying to sustain for this evening."  
  
Rubbing his sore lip, Roger nodded and shrugged at her. He couldn't believe she actually yanked a hair from him like that, but even though he was hurt physically and mentally now, something about her had a hold on him that always managed to keep him calm. If this were anyone else he would have certainly either clobbered them or told them off to the point of no recovery. Instead, Roger just weakly laughed and mustered up a phony smile. "Th-thanks, girly."  
  
"No problem. Anything to help you keep your image," Judy stated with a sarcastic smirk and smoothed out her skirt. "So anyway, what was my dopey brother drilling you about before I got downstairs?"  
  
Roger grumbled and muttered, "Eh, something about that I better take care of you at the party and to be on my best behaviour and junk. Then he goes and tells me something that he doesn't want to hear about me taking advantage of you or some other mumbo jumbo like that."  
  
She looked at him and shook her head. "He's so interfering it's pathetic. If he only knew half the things you and I have done away from prying eyes he would probably have a coronary."  
  
He snickered and nodded in agreement then leaned forward and gently touched the side of her face. "You're looking rather lovely today, I might add. I would have told you that sooner, but your goofball brother sort of blew that out of the water." He then paused, thinking of something, and then moved a little closer. "Let's give him something to talk about later, shall we?"  
  
"Whatever do you mean?" she asked, but her answer came in the form of him lightly pressing his lips against hers. She blinked in surprise behind her sunglasses and almost protested, but something inside of her shut that part of her brain down and allowed her to kiss him back.  
  
Boldly wrapping her arms around him, Judy let the kiss deepen and she felt him shudder in response. She hoped she didn't do the wrong thing by returning the kiss, but it was too late now. After all, she did not mind his closeness, it was just that she wasn't fully in the mood for any kind of passions at the moment and did not want this to go the way it sometimes would. When she felt Roger's fingers tighten on her vest was when she brought up her hands to his shoulders and lightly began to push him back to break off the kiss. Roger resisted for a moment before pulling back from her and leaning against the seat. "Wh-what's wrong, girly?" he panted, adjusting his hat.  
  
Judy just shrugged and casually brushed at her skirt. "I would assume we are almost at the party and I wouldn't want us to get so wrapped up in osculating that we forget our true task at hand." That was the half truth. She did find it rather difficult to resist holding him and kissing him more, but at the same time she didn't want to encourage anything at the moment. Normally they'd do things like that on the way home from a date or in an area where they know they would not be disturbed. Going to an engagement wasn't exactly suitable for more then just mild affections.  
  
Biting her lower lip to try and distract her mind from any further temptations, Judy turned to look out the window. Calm yourself, Judith, she thought, not quite sure why that kiss had an odd effect on her. They've kissed many times in the past, but none seemed to stir her like this one suddenly did. Brushing her auburn hair off her neck, she glanced back to Roger who was still leaning heavily against the limo's seat, his arms crossed in front of his chest and looking rather miserable. Leaning towards him Judy placed a light kiss on his cheek. "Listen, I'm not upset with you, but I will promise you that our time will come to carry on later. That I am sure of."  
  
Roger seemed to perk up a bit more and he grinned at her. "Good, that'll give me something to look forward to then."  
  
She blushed slightly and once again found herself looking back out the window to distract herself. The road they were now traveling down was now sparse in homes, obviously the rich district, but these homes seemed to have way more land, obviously horse country or perhaps cow pastures. "Where exactly are we?" she queried watching the passing fields.  
  
"Beetsburg," he said with a casual shrug. "It's big on horses and stuff. I come here sometimes...where the party is being held I mean. The person that owns the ranch, Mrs. Keane, is a good friend of my mom and I go there a lot to ride the horses."  
  
"You ride horses? Hmmm...well, this should prove to be an interesting night after all. As long as it doesn't turn out to be one of those mundane affairs with prissy people bragging about their money."  
  
Roger snorted. "Would I invite ya to something like that?" Judy gave him a blank look and he put his hands up defensively. "Ok ok I mean, would I invite you to something like that dressed like this?"  
  
"No, I suppose not. Still, I hope that this party will prove worthy of our time."  
  
"Trust me, girly, it will be," he replied and felt a smile tug at his lips as Mrs. Keane's mansion came into view and the limo slowly pulled up to the huge iron gate. There was a dull metallic clunk sound and slowly the gates began to slide open allowing the limo to go up the drive and to the turn around in front of the mansion. So far phase one of his plan was working. They already engaged in a good kiss and Judy already admitted to him that things will continue later on. All he had to do now was carry on with what he was doing and with some luck those things would happen before the night was through.  
  
To be continued... 


	2. Blazing Saddles

Ok, sorry I didn't post a comment on the first chapter, but I forgot and now that I got some reviews up I don't want to repost it and lose them. Anyway this is just a story I cooked up after thinking how hot Roger looked in western gear in the Nickelodeon episode who's title escapes me, but it was where Doug got put on a western kiddie show. This story is just a fun frolic on my imagination and it actually could put Roger and Judy (and Doug for that matter) in ANY age group you really want. They don't have to be burdened with the forever cartoon age, they could be, but they could also be in their 20s if that is what you want them to be. I just made them in a 'whatever' age in this. As for the real age thing, toss it out the window. Disney seriously messed that up and let me explain because if they paid attention to the reality of the matter Roger and Judy technically are two years apart age wise. In Nickelodeon's episodes Roger stated he was held back three years in school. Well, if Doug was 11 in those episodes that would make Roger 14 since he'd be three years older then Doug. When Doug turned 12 Roger should have followed a birthday and became 15, but he didn't, they for some reason kept him at 13 or 14. Judy on the other hand suddenly gained a few years. In Nick and a mention in the Disney ones, she's 16. She got her drivers license in the Nick eps and in one Disney ep Mr. and Mrs. Funnie both mentioned '16 years of parenting paid off.' but she's suddenly off to college? I don't think she's that much of a brainiac for that. Ok, so how is it that Roger decreased in age, Judy increased age, but Doug aged normally? Idiots at Disney screw everything up, but I'm not going there since I do work for the Rat and he'll probably shorten my cheese ration for saying that. Back to the story. It's just a simple plot that Roger's just being a jerk and selfish in his intentions, but as the night goes on he learns more things as does Judy and everything will turn out ok in the end. I got the remark from a reader about cutting back on Rog's bragging about doing Judy. Well, Ladybird summed it up right, Roger IS a jerk and would do just about anything to make Doug squirm regardless if it was true or not. Yes, Roger's in love with Judy, but I tried to base some of his personalities off my real life boyfriend who sometimes acts the same way. He'd much rather say something dirty or crude instead of being a romantic, but I know he's not serious. It's all in good fun and I thank those that wrote me with such positive comments. This should be about a 10 chapter story, but I'm not sure exactly. I had this done last year but my computer freaked and ate it so I had to start over. Actually, I just went on from where I left off and then restarted to get to that point. I got side-tracked and lost interest, but thanks to some kind words as of recent I got the inspiration to finish and post it. I'm just taking my time and leave my loyal followers something to look forward to until it is done. Thanks!  
  
............................................................................ ............................................................................ ...................  
  
As the limo pulled up the long drive, Judy peered over the rims of her sunglasses at the huge mansion that loomed before her. "Wow, I think this place is even bigger then yours...or even Beebe Bluff's for that matter!" She exclaimed, obviously impressed and began to gather up her things as the limo came to a halt.  
  
"Yeah, Mrs. Keane's big on horses too. You'll see." He was about to reach for the door handle and open it since his chauffeur was being so slow, but it slipped from his fingers and opened, the driver standing attentively on the curb. "It's about time, pokey!" Roger growled and got out of the car and waited for Judy to join him. He brushed off his clothes and adjusted his hat then smirked as Judy stepped out and went to his side, her glasses still lowered and she was still gawking at the mansion. "Impressed, girly?" he asked, boldly snaking his arm around her waist.  
  
"I believe so," she replied almost cringing from his touch so out in the open, but she knew he was just trying to impress those around him so she reluctantly gave in and followed him to the long set of cement stairs leading up to a velvet rope where a tall, bored looking man stood.  
  
"Invite, sir?" the doorsman droned, holding out his white gloved hand.  
  
"Oh! Yeah, hold on a minute," Roger released Judy and fumbled around his vest looking for and finding a small bit of parchment with golden lettering on it and handed it to him.  
  
He looked it over, gave a casual glance to the couple almost as if to verify their status then opened the velvet rope allowing them passage. "Enter, your hostess is out in back near the pool area."  
  
"Thanks, pal. Shall we?" he asked Judy offering her his arm. She stared at him for a moment then slowly linked her arm with his. She wasn't used to him being this bold with contact out in the open, but yet she also wasn't so used to him being so considerate and polite. It was a nice change, one she could definitely get used to, but she knew that deep down he was still an obnoxious punk and always would be. At least he wasn't faking his actions now and that was a definate plus in his favour.  
  
As he lead her into the house, Judy couldn't help but notice the amount of picture frames hanging in the long hallway. She glanced at them as they walked by and she noticed almost all were of a woman and horses in a variety of activities. Mostly, it was dressage, but there were quite a few of some thoroughbred horses after a race, trophies at their side and a wreath of roses about thier necks.  
  
Impressive, she thought and only wished she could stop and look at them more intimately and to ask questions about them, but Roger obviously wanted to get to the festivities quickly so she had no choice but to follow. She could only hope that during the evening she could talk to their hostess about the horses and perhaps get a few new ideas for a play involving such a life. It did seem like a fascinating topic to say the least and probably would have sort of a romantic theme to it if done correctly.  
  
They walked through a large kitchen and out through some glass double doors and onto a patio where many people were gathered, all dressed in the themed western wear for the evening. Roger then paused, squinting at the crowd obviously looking for someone. He then grinned and pulled Judy with him by the wrist towards a tall woman dressed in a gingham dress and a straw hat. Judy instantly recognized her as the woman in the pictures and she smiled as well.  
  
Just as Roger got to her, the woman turned, smiled broadly and immediately hugged the rich bully. "Roger Klotz I do declare! You made it!" she pulled back and held his shoulders, looking him up and down almost in the same fashion as his mother did earlier and as with then, Roger winced from the attention. "Well, lookie you! How handsome you are."  
  
She then set her sights on the almost mortified girl at his side. Judy never thought she would see the day where a rich person would talk like such a bumpkin and act so hyper . It certainly wasn't what she had expected, but at the same time it was much welcome for now she knew this wasn't going to be a snooze fest. "My my, would ya look at you?" Mrs. Keane stated to her. "You must be Judy? Roger's told me all about you."  
  
Judy felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. "He did, huh?"  
  
Roger snickered and rubbed the back of his neck hoping he wouldn't be humiliated, but Mrs. Keane just shot him a wink and smiled warmly at Judy. "Yes he did and I must say never did I see such a fine filly as yourself. Now Roger, you take good care of her, ya hear?"  
  
"Don't worry, I wouldn't have it any other way," he found himself saying now sounding like the sap he hoped to avoid.  
  
The hostess nodded and turned her attentions back to Judy. "I am Mrs. Keane in case you haven't figured that out already. I'm also big on horses, but I'm sure that's obvious too. It's good to finally meet you, I did hear loads about you. Roger, your horse is waiting for you in the corral. Why not take your little lady there and get her a horse and then get saddled up. Go take a ride, go have fun. Just don't forget that supper'll be served right before sundown."  
  
He nodded and hastily pulled Judy from their hostess before she started asking a million questions and they'd never get out and riding. He knew how chatty Mrs. Keane could be and right now wasn't the time because if she managed to strike a note in conversation with Judy they'd never get any time to themselves. "No prob, Mrs. Keane, we'll see you later."  
  
"Ta-ta and ya'll have fun ya hear?"  
  
Roger winced and gave a short wave and made his way through the crowd, around the pool and snack table and towards the corral which wasn't too far from the mansion. Judy couldn't help but snicker. "My goodness, Roger, she certainly doesn't seem the type of person you would hang around. I mean she's so not rich acting or snobby. How on Earth did you meet up with her?"  
  
"My mom did her hair at the shop a few times and Mrs. Keane mentioned that she could use some help here while her one hired hand was hurt or something. Of course my mom volunteered me to help out. I was ticked off, but I found out that I kinda liked the horses so even after that loser groom got better I still came here to ride and sometimes help."  
  
Judy arched her eyebrows and stopped walking forcing him to stop as well. "You? You came here to actually help someone? For how much money?" she added sarcastically with a smirk.  
  
He shrugged and started to walk again and muttered quietly, "For nothing really...just get to use the horses when I wanna."  
  
Judy blinked in surprise behind her sunglasses. "Are you feeling ill or something? I didn't think you would do anything that didn't involved money or some kind of payment."  
  
Roger didn't answer for a bit and at first Judy thought she struck a nerve and maybe he wasn't fully giving her all the details like perhaps he was the one that hurt the groomsman and working here was his payoff for the damages or lost time. After a few moments he softly replied, "I just like to ride, that's all. It's relaxing."  
  
Judy smiled to herself and didn't comment although she was bursting to say something sarcastic. Instead she just nodded, but inside her mind things suddenly shifted. Could it be that the bully really did have a soft side to him that she never observed? Granted, the young man had loads of talents ranging from guitar playing, painting, and the occasional ballet dancing, although that depended on his role, but she never thought that he'd turn out to be an animal lover as well. All their time together and she still didn't even know him to the fullest.  
  
She sighed a bit and that caught Roger's attention. He glanced at her, but didn't question it. He just assumed that she was becoming bored. "Umm...you ever ride a horse, girly?" he asked hoping to break the silence between them.  
  
"Once or twice, but it wasn't a big deal." She then looked up and saw the corral and the few horses that were roaming around in it. Actually, what she rode were ponies at one of her childhood birthday parties, but she wasn't about to tell Roger that and come out looking like a fool.  
  
Roger pulled his arm from hers and put his index finger and thumb into his mouth and let out an earsplitting whistle. In response a large black horse with a white zig-zag stripe down his face whinnied back. "Good, she did bring out Zeus after all," he said with a snicker and quickened his pace towards the horses in the corral.  
  
"Zeus?" Judy laughed as she followed him. "Don't tell me you named him?"  
  
"No way. Mrs. Keane names all her horses. I used to ride one named Hermes, but he was much too fast and a bully at times so Mrs. Keane sent him off to get trained for some hack horse races at county fairs and junk. Zeus here sorta chose me as his rider...just came up to me one day and just follwed me around."  
  
Judy quirked a brow as Roger climbed onto the fence and stroked the black horse's muzzle. "And which of these fine steeds shall I have the pleasure of riding?" she inquired, reaching out to touch the sleek neck of Zeus then couldn't help but snicker to herself thinking about Roger being bullied by a horse. A bully being bested by another bully, too funny, she thought.  
  
"Oh! I think I'll get you Zeus' newest friend, Hera."  
  
That got a snort laughter out of Judy, but she clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle it. "Someone really was up on their Greek mythology weren't they? Maybe a bit too much?"  
  
Roger shot her an annoyed and slightly hurt look. "If it weren't for these dopey names I wouldn't have got an interest in myths and probably wouldn't have aced that stupid essay I had to do for my creative writing class. Besides a few spelling mistakes I did really good."  
  
Judy lowered her head a bit knowing this time she really hit a nerve with him this time. He's been trying so hard to improve academically for her and all she did was shoot him down, half the time without knowing it. "Well, ahhh, where is this Hera at? I would really like to see her and get going on a trail ride with you. If that's all right?"  
  
He glared at her and at first she thought he was going to tell her he wasn't in the mood anymore, but a smirk appeared on his face and he nodded. "Yeah, that's all right. Now, let's find your horse and get her and Zeus saddled." Roger jumped off the fence and patted his hand on the top rail making Zeus follow him to the gate. He then opened it and reached up to grab the horse's halter. "Here, hold him like this and I'll go get Hera."  
  
Judy took the halter and watched as Roger went into the corral and up to a dainty white mare, patted her neck, and brought her to where Judy waited with Zeus. She smiled and exchanged horses with Roger. "Well, aren't you the pretty one?" she asked the horse, getting a nuzzle against her arm in return. Judy then looked at Roger over the rims of her sunglasses. "Now we have the horses, but what next? They aren't exactly saddled and ready to go and I don't see any stable hands around to help us."  
  
Roger snickered and began to lead his horse towards the stables. "We don't need one of those losers, girly. I can do it myself and show you how if you want."  
  
"You? You know how to tack a horse?" she questioned with an amused tone.  
  
He shot her a nasty look, but continued walking. "There's a lot you don't know about me, girly girl. Maybe someday you'll give me that chance to show you if I deem worthy enough for you," he replied in a way mocking her manner of speaking.  
  
Judy chewed on her lower lip after hearing the offended tone in his voice. She didn't mean to upset him, but it was just that she wasn't used to the rich punk being so knowledgeable on mundane things like saddling a horse or liking those it for that matter. Seeing she insulted him, Judy knew now wasn't the time to question his other interests or abilities because he would only be a smart-ass. Hoping to break the uncomfortable moment between them she did asked, "So, what makes Zeus so special to you anyway? I mean, I'm sure you have your pick of steeds, but why him after Hermes? I know he sort of chose you, but you could have shooed him away."  
  
At first she thought he wasn't going to answer since it was a stupid and quickly thought up question on her part, but slowly and softly he responded. "Before Hermes I used to ride one named Apollo. Apollo went lame, though. He was super fast and a neat dappled gray in colour. He ran himself totally into the ground so they put him out to pasture. He's here someplace, but not for riding. I then got Hermes and he had his need for speed drama. With the bad luck I seemed to be having with horses I didn't think I'd ever get a good one again. Zeus sort of adopted me and we've been pals ever since." Judy just nodded and said nothing as she was still displeased with herself for teasing him. "Well, let's get these horses ready so we can get out of here and start having some fun," Roger told her, a sudden uplift in his voice and he nudged her in the side.  
  
"That sounds very good to me. What would you like me to do?" Judy questioned with a laugh as Hera butted her playfully with her head. Judy patted the mare's neck and got pushed again. "What is she doing, Roger?"  
  
However, Roger was all ready gone and coming back with a saddle that he put on a post then turned his attentions to Judy and Hera. "Eh, she's just eager to get out of here, that's all. It's not every day that she gets to be ridden by the most prettiest girl around." Seeing he blurted that out he quickly made his way back to Zeus and grabbed a blanket off a peg hoping to distract Judy from his comment.  
  
"Umm...you gotta put the blanket up here on the withers then drag it down along the horse's back so the hairs lay smooth under it," Roger quipped and demonstrated. He was obviously flustered by what he had said and he hoped that Judy didn't hear, but she did. However, she maintained her somber attitude and ignored the comment, or so she thought. The compliment Roger blurted out did way more to her then she was letting on to both him and herself. At first she was rather bored in watching him show her how to properly prepare a horse for a ride and on checking the hooves for stones or anything lodged in the area strangely called a frog.  
  
However, when Roger pulled the saddle off the post where it rested and carried it to Zeus, Judy suddenly noticed how well formed Roger's muscle definition was. She blinked behind her sunglasses. That couldn't be right he was far too young to be built like that! Still, the vision remained. Roger was very muscular under his gray shirt, biceps were well formed and his chest was highly defined. He felt eyes looking at him and as he lifted his head his hair was suddenly long and flowing past his shoulders. How could this be?  
  
Judy squeezed her eyes shut and when she reopened them Roger was standing before her, his shirt suddenly gone, muscles in full view that were quite developed and rippling. He was taller then she remembered as well and so stunningly gorgeous that she found it hard to turn away or resist. "Are ya learnin' anything, girly?" he asked her seductively, bending down close to her, his nose almost touching hers. Numbly she nodded as he picked her up into his arms. "Good, now let me teach you why suede is not a good idea to wear when taking a tussle in the hay. So, pay attention!"  
  
Judy furrowed her brow as he shouted and looked up at her seducer and instead of the mature and powerful Roger with flowing hair it was the regular cocky punk standing before her, an impatient leer on his face. "Huh? Wh-what?" she stammered, feeling highly embarrassed by what she was thinking and hoping she didn't say or do anything out of context in front of Roger.  
  
He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, slightly irritated by her sudden aloofness. "Joeycookamonga girly, pay attention! I ain't teaching you all this junk to waste my breath and hear myself talk ya know."  
  
She blushed more and turned her attention to her skirt and started brushing at it then suddenly realized it was suede and that made her blush again as she thought back to her little dream sequence. What in the world made her lapse off into some childish fantasy and of Roger of all people? Her feelings were strong for him, but not like that! No matter, it must have been the scent of the hay surrounding them or maybe the leather from all the tack or even the fumes from the saddle soap that caused such a strange hallucination.  
  
Or maybe it was the fact that Roger actually knew what he was talking about, was skillful in what he was doing and had a small rivulet of sweat trailing down the side of his face giving him an almost rugged appearance. Judy stared at him for a moment and suddenly began to feel slightly warmer then usual. Uncomfortably she tugged at the collar of her blouse and muttered, "Uhhh...well, that was all so informative, but I do believe we should be heading on our way. I'm starting to get quite hot...I mean parched! I could use a cool drink most definately."  
  
Roger smirked at her and pulled her away from Hera and led her into the tack room. "Not until you showed me how much you were paying attention by tacking your own horse."  
  
"Tack my own horse? Roger, that's insane. I'm wearing suede so I don't think that's a good idea for me," she protested, but didn't resist him handing her a small saddle and blanket.  
  
"You'll live. Now, come on, I'm thirsty as well," Roger snickered and grabbed a bridle and walked out of the room and back towards Hera leaving Judy standing in the doorway still not quite sure what to make of her fantasy or why Roger was making her saddle up Hera. With a frustrated sigh Judy followed him and dropped the saddle on the post near her ride. "There, now what?"  
  
"Whaddya mean now what? Didn't you learn anything when I was getting Zeus ready to ride? You were gawkin' at me long enough. I'm sure something had to sink into that head of yours."  
  
Judy suddenly blushed taken by surprise that Roger even noticed that she was staring at him while he was getting Zeus saddled up. She wasn't even going to attempt to figure it out or dwell on it for that matter. Shooting him a nasty look she grabbed the blanket off the saddle and put it on Hera's back. "I know exactly what you did. Remember, I'm an actress and I can study and remember minor details since that is essential to memorizing plays and lines."  
  
Roger just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Quit the yap and prove it to me then, girly."  
  
She blinked behind her glasses at his sudden attitude and tone of voice, but seeing a sly smirk spread on his face she knew he was just taunting her into doing what she was supposed to do. That was one thing that was growing on her about him was his ability to tease someone just enough to motivate them to do something. Although it was mostly only with her, she could imagine him being very persuasive when he'd get into trouble and getting out of it.  
  
Showing that she did hear what he was telling her about the horses, well, at least some of it anyway, Judy placed the blanket neatly on Hera's back and smoothed it down before she got the saddle. Even though it was light enough to pick up, she didn't realize it was just a bit heavy to actually lift up and put on the horse. Roger watched her for a moment as she struggled before he stepped forward and helped her. She was just about to snap at him, telling him she could do it herself, but that powerful man from her fantasy came back to her, gently assisting her with a heart warming smile.  
  
Maybe she was looking at Roger in the wrong light after all the years of knowing him. The fantasy was probably her mind's way of telling her he could be possibly everything she wanted if only given the chance. Taking a breath to calm herself, Judy allowed him to lift the heavy saddle onto the horse's back. "Thank you," she said quietly and reached under Hera's belly for the strap on the saddle. She pulled it up and into the buckle and then felt Roger's hand on hers.  
  
She jumped, but he just smiled at her, "Gotta pull it tight, girly. Horses like to hold their breath during this for some reason. You're not gonna hurt her and as long as you can get about three fingers between her belly and the strap you know it's just fine." He pulled the strap for her and demonstrated how lose it should be so the horse wouldn't be too uncomfortable.  
  
Reaching behind him he then handed Judy the bridle. "You can do this yourself I think."  
  
Judy patted the white horse then moved the bridle up to the top of the horse's head and pushed her down slightly while positioning the bit in front of Hera's mouth. Hera was so calm and gentle she just stood quietly while Judy attempted to do this to her. The horse snorted when it was over, adjusted the bit in her mouth and gave a slight toss of her head with a stamp of her back foot almost as if saying hurry up, it's not that difficult. Judy smirked, "You sound like my mother. Always rushing me to do something I'm not sure about."  
  
Roger couldn't help but laugh. "You knew what she said? Oh man, I'm dating Dr. Doolittle!"  
  
That comment made Judy blush, but she completed her task none-the-less. "To hear all one must do is listen! Anyway, did I pass?" she asked the smirking punk at her side.  
  
Roger looked over the straps on the bridle and saddle then nodded, "You just gotta check her hooves and we'll be all set to ride on outta here."  
  
Judy ran her hand down the horse's front leg until she got to the fetlock and tickled the horse slightly there making Hera lift her leg for Judy to hold it and examine the hoof. She smiled to herself seeing that the hoof was fine and clear of any problems so she set it down and repeated the action on the remaining three hooves.  
  
As she completed her job, a dusty farm hand appeared. She smiled slightly at him and then walked around to Hera's left side and patted her neck. It was then that she saw Roger glaring hatefully at the man. He was practically bristling just looking at him and she wondered what was wrong.  
  
"Ya'll need any help?" the man inquired gently returning the soft smile Judy had given him, but he was purposely avoiding contact with Roger's eyes and it was obvious they weren't exactly fond of each other.  
  
Roger snarled at him, "Does it look like we need any help now you loser?" He then realized what he had said and in what tone and almost instantly he felt Judy's eyes burning an imaginary hole in the back of his head as she stared at him through her dark sunglasses. This wasn't how he was supposed to impress her! Insulting people for no good reason wasn't the plan to fully win her and he possibly just blew it all in such a big way by saying something so stupid. He flinched, cleared his throat and replied. "Why, uhhh no, Larry. We're quite fine, thank you. Please excuse us, we are off for a bit of riding before Mrs. Keane's dinner begins. Good night."  
  
Larry warily looked at Roger almost expecting the rich punk to haul off and slug him, but all he got from him was a phony crooked smile. Giving Judy a slight nod, Larry slunk backwards and disappeared back the way he had originally came.  
  
Feeling proud of himself for how he handled things, Roger puffed out his chest and grinned broadly at Judy almost seeming to try and turn on his fake attitude towards Larry onto her. "Shall we be off then, my sweet?"  
  
Although Judy didn't appreciate Roger's treatment of Larry, she didn't let it show. She was very disappointed with him to say the least, but kept her comments to herself. He was trying so hard to be good and that was obvious, but it seemed almost painful for him not to get his ego inflated or to not insult someone. Still he was allowed one mistake so she decided to let this all be pushed aside and forgotten.  
  
Judy sighed and mounted her steed, her hands gripping the reins as she adjusted her seat. It wasn't exactly easy to sit on a horse while wearing a skirt, but she managed. It also was a big change in the little ponies she rode long ago. Judy lightly squeezed her legs against Hera's sides and prodded her into a walk. "Well, where are we off to then, Rog?" she simply asked doing her best to maintain her composure.  
  
He shrugged and climbed aboard Zeus. "Eh, we can just let the horses take us where they want. The trail is a bit long from here to where she's going to have the party set up. Believe me, Mrs. Keane's got a lot of land and loads of barns and junk. If you think what you saw now was big, wait'll you get a sight of what is past the trees ahead. This area is just the corral and tack room area with a few little stalls for something like an emergency. Mrs. Keane still got rows of stables, feed barns and barns where she stores her equipment and junk. You'll see, if you can catch me!" and with that Roger poked Zeus' flanks with the heels of his boots prodding him into a brisk trot.  
  
"Catch you? Dream on dear Roger, it should be more like you need to catch me!" She shouted after him and goaded her horse into a swift run that took her past Roger and Zeus. Roger shouted something behind her, but that only made her coax Hera into a faster run. Now she knew that this was going to make Roger chase her, but that is what she wanted. If he wanted to race her, then that's exactly what she was going to do for him. She knew her horsemanship skills weren't all that fantastic, but they were good enough and she started to realize that what she needed to allow herself to have already was fun.  
  
To be continued.... 


	3. A Fistful of Taters

The pounding of horse hooves suddenly disturbed the once quiet fields. Judy and her steed were well ahead of Roger and Zeus all though those two were gaining ground fast. She laughed in spite of herself and coaxed Hera to move quicker. "Come on, girl. We can't let some foolish males catch up to us and win." As if in response the horse gleefully whinnied and galloped all the faster bolting well ahead of Roger and his mount.  
  
"Hey no fair!" Roger shouted from behind her. Zeus wasn't a horse to be left behind and the black beast gathered his long legs from under him and charged after his white friend and her rider and the chase was on. They galloped on through the fields off the small worn trail and after a while came into a clearing near a small lake.  
  
Seeing the water suddenly made Judy pull the reins and bring Hera to a stop. She's seen many a lake before, but this one somehow struck her as a real beauty. How she longed to dismount and take a walk on the shore, perhaps Roger would join her and they could share in a much needed quiet moment alone together, but that wasn't going to happen. He wasn't really the full romantic type, but then again a sight like this could surely bring out the Romeo in even the most hardened of fellows.  
  
Roger and Zeus soon caught up with the pair and stopped to see what was going on. He looked at Judy and followed her gaze to the lake. He wrinkled up his long pointed nose and snorted, "What're you looking at, girly? Ain't nothing there but water."  
  
"Ah, but what a fine sight to behold. The sun is setting at just the right angle to bring a special crimson colouring to the water it's glinting off of. Such is a sight many a fine poet and artist grows inspiration from and if one is not careful that kind of sight is something that brings out the desires of every hopeless romantic out there."  
  
Roger rolled his eyes not especially caring for things like that, but then it dawned on him that he would have to learn to like it if he wanted to fully win her heart. Granted he had her, but he knew it probably wasn't enough. Judy was all about drama and romance, but he really wasn't and she would know if he were faking regardless of what he might say or do. Still, the lake did look rather pretty just now and it would be a nice place to go and sit near later on if they were able to find the time.  
  
Gathering the reins and pulling up on Zeus to stop him from cropping the grass, Roger moved closer to Judy with a sigh signifying that he was slowly falling victim to the scene behind him, just like she hoped he would, and was reluctant to leave. "Well, I suppose you're right, but it ain't like we're gonna have much time to gawk over a sight like that. I'm sure chow's almost ready. We're not that far from the party area and I can already smell food. We gotta get there before everyone else does and takes the good food and spots to sit."  
  
Letting out a sigh herself and giving the lake one last glance Judy agreed that it was indeed time to move onwards and join the festivities. There would always be a chance for more leisure time after they have eaten, that she was sure of. She was getting quite hungry anyway and could concentrate better on any inspirations on a full stomach. The sun would be down by the time she'd get back to the lake, but perhaps the moon would be out and offer a whole new turn on the sight the sunset brought.  
  
"C'mon girly, enough gawking let's go eat already," Roger interrupted her thoughts and gave her a gentle shove on her arm.  
  
Judy reluctantly followed him leaving the lake and its beauty behind. She made a mental note to herself to always keep a small notepad of some sort with her from now on for any bits of inspiration for plays or poems that would come her way. Tonight's events could no doubt be shaped into a theatrical production of some sort as well and perhaps she could have it be a romance of sorts that included the muscular man from her fantasy.  
  
Roger turned in his saddle and smirked, "What're ya thinking, girly? You've been awfully quiet since we got in this area. Don't tell me you wanna look at that dopey lake some more?"  
  
She somberly shook her head, her fantasy of that strong man dissolving into nothingness until there was just ordinary Roger at her side. If only there were more to him then being rich and a punk. What is your problem, Judith? She angrily asked herself knowing that was a lie. Roger had way more on the inside then he let on to everyone. Judy was one of the rare people to actually see Roger behind the tough guy act he put on.  
  
She had heard his guitar playing and saw his paintings. She saw him perform in many a play as well as her own. She even heard his singing and that was like the voice of an angel to her, but she wasn't one to swoon. Roger did have tons of talents, but they were muted by his ability to hide them behind the bully that seemed to dislike everything and things he labeled as sappy.  
  
His care for horses and his knowledge over them proved even more to her that Roger was more human then he actually let on. For a man that genuinely cared for other living creatures had a great heart no matter how much he hid that sensitivity. She hasn't seen him around young children or babies, but she was certain that when someone wasn't looking he would show them the same care and respect he seemed to have for the horses and other animals.  
  
Glancing over to him she smiled a bit. Aside from hidden personality traits, Roger was also good looking and stately, but still had a boyish quality about him. Granted she was two years his senior, but that didn't stop her from being oddly attracted to him, almost hotly, during a few rare moments. She had been teased by her fellow peers about dating someone so much younger, but her argument back was that in about four more years the age difference wouldn't even be an issue so it shouldn't be one now.  
  
Roger squirmed a bit uncomfortably as he felt her gaze and he sharply turned to look at her. "Somethin' wrong with you, girly?" he grumbled starting to feel very self-conscience and he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
Judy just shook her head. Just when she started thinking things were going well and he was being such a gentleman and pleasant something nasty always had to come out of that mouth of his. "No, Roger, I'm fine," she softly responded and focused on the path the horses were now taking in order to hide her disappointment.  
  
Soon, a large red barn loomed in the distance as well as a huge corral that was very intricate with bars and troughs and also much more posh than the first corral where they encountered Zeus and Hera. Soft music could be heard coming from the barn and there was quite a gathering of people heading inside. This was no doubt the party area that Roger was talking about.  
  
"Looks like we're right on time," Roger remarked and prodded Zeus into a faster gait. Judy followed, but said nothing. As they got to the corral, Roger dismounted and tied Zeus' reins to a fence post then began to brush himself off and straighten his hat.  
  
Judy did the same and looked around for someone to take the horses in and relieve them of their saddles and cool them down. "Where are the hired hands? I mean, isn't someone going to tend to these horses?"  
  
Roger smirked and stepped to her side while slowly and boldly slipping his arm around her waist. "Don't let it worry ya, girly, they'll be just fine. Someone'll come and take care of 'em in a few minutes. Trust me, Mrs. Keane doesn't let her horses go uncared for. Now, let's go get some grub, shall we?" The last part of his sentence sounded choked in some way as if attempting proper manners let alone grammar was difficult for him. Hesitating for a moment Judy allowed herself to be held by him and followed him towards the barn.  
  
Outside, rows of barbeque grills were set out, smoking with the meat they were cooking and others just waited to be tended to. Inside the barn the scene was a bit more chaotic. Tables and chairs were set out almost entirely in the middle of the barn floor. Along the walls were rows and rows of tables filled with all kinds of appetizers such as fruits, salads, breads, and the meats that had been cooking on the grills outside. Cooks and farm hands rushed about trying to get last minute preparations settled and a small band looked like they were eyeing up the area where the stage was set up for their later performance.  
  
Judy boredly looked around the barn feeling this was now beginning to become hokey. "Well," she sighed, "I just hope that this is going to be real food and not the usual insipid bits of cow parts that suffice at other gatherings of this nature."  
  
"Give it a chance, girly," Roger responded handing her a china plate. "This ain't exactly your normal picnic."  
  
Judy arched a brow at what she was given. "China? Since when do they give out glass plates for a barbeque?"  
  
Roger couldn't help but snicker at that. "It's just nothing you're used to, huh? Trust me, girly, just because this is a stupid little country bumpkin thing doesn't mean the richness of the area is taken away."  
  
"I suppose not," she answered without so much of a change in her voice. She sounded truly bored out of her skull, but Roger didn't let it faze him. He was used to her droning and almost disinterest in anything that wasn't Shakespearian or dramatic in any way. At times it almost seemed as if Judy only tolerated his company, but when they had a moment and things did get cozy like they did earlier in his limo Roger knew otherwise.  
  
They've been going out for quite a while now and they knew each other pretty well by ways of likes and dislikes. Judy enjoyed new things, but it did take her a while to warm up to them because her actress mind was always working overtime to make something into a play or script and if she put all that aside she might actually begin to have true fun. They were almost total opposites with Roger taking risks and trying fun things while Judy enjoyed sitting back and relishing the finer beauty and dramatics in life.  
  
Roger saw that part of her come out more often then not, but tonight she was proving that she had it in her to at least try and be relaxed and enjoy things. He then realized he had to get her to that lake later on tonight if they had the time. If she was that captivated by the lake and it's beauty during sunset, she should be smitten with it when the moon hung over it casting dappled shimmers on the black water. If she wanted romantic that setting would definitely be what she craved and perhaps it would turn into the something that he desired for a while now.  
  
Judy watched him as he piled hamburgers and ribs onto his plate then reached for some mashed potatoes and an ear of corn. Not too hungry herself, Judy chose a steak, which surprised her as being part of the menu, and some mixed vegetables. A gentleman handed her a glass filled with iced tea and she followed behind Roger who was briskly walking towards an empty table up ahead. He just about dropped his plate and glass of rootbeer then darted around to the other side of the table and yanked out the chair for her. "After you, my sweet," he managed to get out, but this time it didn't sound forced or fake.  
  
Judy gave him a gentle nod then slowly sat down while Roger pushed the chair in. She admired his attempt at his politeness, but had to shoot her hands up in front of her to stop from getting shoved into the table as an over-eager Roger pushed the chair in a bit too far. "Thank you, Roger, that's fine." she managed to get out then turned to look up at him, a frazzled smile tugging at her lips.  
  
He gave her a nod and headed back to his seat. As he sat down he noticed Larry enter the barn. Jerk, Roger thought to himself and watched the groomsman carefully almost daring him to come over to where he and Judy were, but much to Roger's relief Larry didn't even notice the black clad bully and went on his way. Judy noticed his sudden change in posture going from being laid back to almost bristling. "Something wrong, Roger?" she asked while cutting into her steak.  
  
Roger snorted and shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong girly, I'm absolutely fine." he then gave her a forced smile and started to work on his own plate of food.  
  
Still not sure why Roger was so angry just for that moment, Judy started to glance around the barn in hopes to find the source, but couldn't see what could have riled him up like that. Hoping to ease the tension she softly asked, "So, anything going on with you in school that I should know about or pique my interests?"  
  
"Hm? Well, umm...yeah, got a Shakespeare play comin' up soon and I might try out for it," he mumbled around a mouthful of hamburger. Why is it that everyone on the face of the Earth seems to ask a question just as someone else has something in their mouth?  
  
Judy motioned for him to finish chewing and to swallow before asking him to continue. The last thing she wanted to see was the food in Roger's maw. Grimacing at the very thought she drew her attentions on her glass of iced tea and wondered if the glass was really crystal or just something that looked good, but wasn't too expensive to use on an outdoor gathering. Realizing that wasn't anything too significant she glanced back up at Roger who already had an annoyed look on his face in waiting for her to pay attention. "I'm sorry, please continue."  
  
Roger cleared his throat and wiped his hands on his napkin. "Eh, well like I was trying to say, we got a Shakespeare play comin' up sometime at school and I was thinking on trying out for it."  
  
She smiled at hearing that. "Do tell. What play is it and do you know the role you are after?"  
  
He shrugged. "Some tragedy about some loser named after a salad or something. I wanna be the guy that helps kill him off."  
  
Judy groaned and shook her head. "If you mean Julius Caesar he is not named after a salad you neanderthal. He came way before that and the salad was named after him." She blinked at how stupid that sounded and rubbed the side of her face. "Roger, how could you possibly show an interest in something if you really don't know the background or the proper names?"  
  
"Well, I do have an interest in the play! I just didn't really pay much attention to it at first because I thought it was some sappy romance and I didn't want to get stuck in that kind of thing! I mean, umm...not that that's a bad thing, I just wanted to try something a bit more challenging. They're not doing auditions for a few weeks though so I'm really not too worried about it."  
  
Another groan escaped her and she closed her eyes behind her sunglasses thankful she kept them on so he couldn't see her frustration. "Roger, it's not important," she sighed trying to keep calm. "I'm just glad you are interested in such a fine piece of dramatic work. Caesar is one of the best plays I read when I first started out in the tragedy department. It's basically about a Roman Emperor who ignores a profit's warning about the Ides of March. He more or less got full of himself after a victory and there were plots to kill him." She then paused for a moment and took a sip of her iced tea before continuing. "Whom by the way are you interested in playing the part of?"  
  
He casually shrugged and struggled around another mouthful of food, "Brutush," he mumbled, not saying it wrong, just that trying to get out a name like that with food in one's mouth doesn't help matters.  
  
Judy glared at him and then smirked, "Et tu Bruté?"  
  
Roger just nodded and tried desperately to swallow the contents in his mouth. "Uh huh, he just seems like a good character and if I don't get him I really don't care who I get just as long as I can do the play, it sounds pretty cool."  
  
"Well, the play is pretty cool so to speak. I can see why it would be right up your alley. There's vengeance and betrayal. Caesar is also quite arrogant and I'm surprised he's not the one you are interested in portraying. He tends to get so full of himself and thinks everyone loves him and would follow him to the ends of the world, but he's wrong. He was given a warning and ignored it and it ended up being his downfall. Now on the other hand..."  
  
Roger rolled his eyes and poked at his food. He knew he shouldn't have got Judy started in any sort of play speak. She was capable to prattle on and on endlessly about any given topic pertaining to Shakespeare or any other dramatic performance including poetry and her infamous artsy things. Glancing up at her he saw that she was starting to get well wrapped up on her words by not only giving him a further play description, but she was now doing character backgrounds and dropping various quotes from the play.  
  
He scooped up a spoonful of mashed potatoes and was about to stuff it into his mouth when he noticed that Larry was sitting just a few tables away from where he and Judy were seated. A wicked grin began to tug at the corners of his mouth and a horrible idea formed in his mind. Roger knew he could easily hit Larry with the food without even trying. Roger's aim was always so true that he could nail the groomsman without getting it onto anyone else or on the floor. Giving his spoon an extra large scoop of the potatoes, Roger began to focus his sights on the man and took aim knowing that Judy was too out of it to even notice what he was doing.  
  
However, he was wrong and Judy wasn't as oblivious to his actions as he assumed she was. Just as he bent the spoon backwards to launch his ammunition Judy slammed her hands down loudly on the table and quickly stood up almost knocking over her chair. "Roger Michael Klotz how dare you!" she shouted. Startled, Roger flinched and the spoon of mashed potatoes went clattering to the floor and fortunately for him it missed his pants. He looked up at her and flinched again knowing he was in for it now and by the look on her face he knew he was in deep trouble.  
  
"I cannot believe what you just now tried to pull, Roger! How could you? I thought you were becoming the perfect gentleman and your juvenile action just now proved me very wrong. And to think I honestly thought that you had some vague interest in what I was saying to you."  
  
Knowing it was futile to argue or protest Roger brushed his hands off on his napkin and stood. "Sorry to disappoint ya, girly," he muttered, thoroughly embarrassed with what she said to him and of course all eyes were upon them, but he took no notice. He gave her a small nod, tipped his hat slightly then turned on his boot heel and marched out of the barn disappearing someplace outside.  
  
Judy watched him go with an annoyed shake of her head. Unbelievable! She was morbidly shocked that Roger would have actually tried to do something like that in her presence, but what hurt her more is the fact he was doing it while she was trying to inform him about the play he was trying to get a part in. If he didn't want to listen he should have just said something, not do something as repulsive as this.  
  
Judy sighed and sank back down onto her chair feeling both insulted and betrayed. After all this time Roger's true colours finally came out and it was obvious he wasn't going to change no matter what he said or did. She tried to overlook many things in the past, but this was something that was not going to be forgotten or forgiven easily if at all.  
  
Settling down a little she cut at her steak and reluctantly started eating again. When she was done with her meal she was going to find the rich punk and request him to take her home so she could meditate and possibly wipe this entire fiasco from her mind and be rid of the strained patience she had put up with for him for the last few years. Her limits were seemingly pushed to the max and she wanted nothing more then to have this abrupt nightmare to be over with.  
  
To be continued... 


	4. Judy Get Your Fun

As she finished eating her meal Judy suddenly realized how quiet and boring it was now with Roger gone. She wondered where he went and if she would honestly be able to find him on this huge estate. She also wondered if he would be upset enough to leave her here with no way home. You blew it now, Judith, she thought dejectedly and pushed her empty plate over to where Roger's still sat.  
  
Wiping her hands on her napkin Judy was about to stand and go search for him when Mrs. Keane seemed to materialize out of nowhere and was standing behind Roger's chair. Now with her here Judy felt all the more uncomfortable about the entire situation. After all, Mrs. Keane is Roger's friend and no doubt by yelling at Roger like she did, Judy without a doubt offended the hostess of the party. Hoping to play it cool and hoping that Mrs. Keane didn't hear or see the blow up, Judy gave her a nervous grin and remarked, "Great food, Mrs. Keane. I must give my compliments to the chef!"  
  
Mrs. Keane nodded and without missing a beat asked, "Where is Roger? It's not like him to not finish eating ribs. Normally that boy could put away an entire pig! Land sakes, I do hope that the food was to his liking. I mean I would like him to join the next party I have and hope that bad cooking wouldn't be the cause for him to vanish on me."  
  
Nervously Judy just shrugged and flicked at an imaginary piece of lint on her skirt. Part of her thought it would be best to lie about what really happened to Roger, but her principles got the best of her. Mrs. Keane did have the right to know what happened to him and what he was trying to do to one of her workers. Taking in a breath to calm her self before she started spewing out how upset she really was with Roger, Judy answered, "Well, he thought it was going to be actually hilarious to try and fling mashed potatoes at your groomsman, Larry. I vituperated him for doing it and he got flustered and left."  
  
The hostess quirked an eyebrow and looked placidly at Judy. "I see. Well, then, that explains it. Roger's quite sensitive and maybe it wasn't a good idea that you scolded him like that in public. He's probably humiliated beyond belief."  
  
"He's humiliated!" Judy cried, totally shocked that Mrs. Keane made Roger the victim in all of this. "He is the one that humiliated me! He brings me to this little shindig and acts all polite and like the perfect and modest gentleman then he does something so infantile as this and he expects me to overlook it? I think not! I can see through his little act and now can see him for what he is and I am not amused. No, I think I am going to go find him and demand him to take me home. I won't be subject to a boyfriend that acts so immaturely in public."  
  
Mrs. Keane folded her arms crossly in front of her chest and stared down at the thespian. "And what makes you think you are any better? After all, you do have a little brother and trust me, Roger's told me many a tale about you and what kind of pranks you do to Doug from time to time. There can't be a set of rules for Roger to follow and a separate set for you. I mean, if you are allowed to torture your brother, then Roger should be allowed to do the same to others. Am I right?"  
  
Judy was just about to answer back, stunned that Mrs. Keane would say something so sharp to her, but was waved to silence so the hostess could continue. "Forgive me if I'm talking out of line, little missy, but you seem to treat Roger very unfairly and overlook him for what he truly is. That boy says nothing but nice things about you and almost worships the ground you walk on, but he's scared to death on how he's supposed to act around you."  
  
Now Judy was taken aback by this comment. She lowered her sunglasses and peered at Mrs. Keane over the rims. "Excuse me? Roger is scared of me? That makes no sense at all. He's cocky and bold at any given occasion, but the rest of the time he acts as ordinary as he can be. Maybe a little rigid, but still, he's fine. I've never had any trouble with him up until just now."  
  
Mrs. Keane just nodded, seeing that she struck a nerve with the drama queen and just was trying to figure out how to handle it without being too much more of a bitch herself. "You never noticed his worry because you probably never really paid attention. I'm not sticking up for him just because he's been a good friend of mine for a while, but what I am asking is for you to maybe take a look at your self this time for once. Maybe Roger isn't the problem at all, but you. I mean, have you ever truly looked deep inside yourself and found the real Judy?"  
  
She snorted, obviously insulted, "Yes!" she snapped. "I think I know quite well who I am, thank you very much!"  
  
"Do you now? Well, you might, you might not, but when did you ever truly let your hair down and not do anything that was so prim and proper? Did you two ever share a really good laugh together or do something so wrong and obnoxious that you felt strange at first, but it made you so happy to do it that it was justified?"  
  
Judy squirmed slightly and adjusted her sunglasses once again hiding her dark eyes from the world. She remembered all the times Roger tried holding her hand in public or tried some sort of affection and how she would almost cringe at the touch. She liked her privacy and felt that all of Bluffington didn't need to know about their relationship. Granted the two of them would kiss or cuddle, but it was always when she knew they were alone or wouldn't have an audience. Judy has stymied even a simple good- bye kiss when she noticed her parents or someone else in the area.  
  
"Not everything in life has to follow an exact script, Judith," Mrs. Keane said softly, her tone definitely changing now that she saw Judy's mood sobering a bit. She didn't want to be harsh with the girl since she really didn't know her, but it was obvious that Roger was definitely cowed by Judy's attitude and was very confused on how to behave around her. He no doubt wanted to do all he could to impress her and keep her happy, but at the same time he was holding back on being his true self around her.  
  
"Don't suppress your feelings towards him," she continued. "Let him be who he is, but also, let your own barriers down a little. You might just be surprised at the outcome. I'm not telling you what you should or should not do, but maybe try to loosen up a bit. He is trying his best to adapt to your world, maybe give his world a shot. You might like it." Mrs. Keane then gave Judy a gentle wink. Adjusting her straw hat she added, "Remember, he's got a tough guy's persona, but is really a big sweetie deep down."  
  
With that Mrs. Keane left and vanished into the mix of party-goers leaving Judy to contemplate about what she just told her. Judy was mixed with all sorts of emotions and really didn't know how to take any of this. Part of her was insulted that this woman who barely knew her more or less challenged her into finding out who Judy Funnie really is, but the other part was seriously thinking that Mrs. Keane's words could have some truth in them.  
  
Judy had been harsh to Roger, almost cold at times and she knew it. She knew he was trying to be exactly what she would want and it was so evident. He did buy her things, sometimes more then he probably should, and he did try to help her with any finances that came her way especially for her stage productions. She was always grateful to him, never abusing the fact that he is indeed very rich and she always tried her best not to give him false feelings about their relationship. Still, she wondered if he was honestly having fun with her like he should and if she was allowing herself to have true fun with him?  
  
She knew now that she was hiding herself from him a bit much. She didn't need to constantly be so dramatic and like Mrs. Keane said, life didn't always have to follow such a strict script. Adjusting the plates one final time Judy stood and brushed herself off and strode out of the barn without so much of a look around. She knew that there were still a few people watching her, she felt their gaze as she left, but she didn't care. She made a scene that was completely out of line and now she had to face her punishment and if the stares and head-shakings were part of that so be it.  
  
Stepping outside into the cool night air, Judy inhaled deeply and looked around letting her eyes adjust to the change in lighting and hoped she wouldn't have a difficult time finding Roger. There were quite a few people mingling around the corral where she and Roger had earlier put Zeus and Hera, but none were the all black clad bully she was looking for. Still, Judy stepped closer and climbed onto the lower rail for a better view just in case she missed him. Seeing he wasn't with the horses she jumped down off the fence and headed back towards the barn wondering if he went someplace behind it then an idea hit her. Turning quickly Judy made her way back towards the lake hoping her assumption would be correct.  
  
The lake wasn't that far off from the barn, but it was still quite a distance on foot. Seeing it ahead, Judy gasped softly for the thoughts from before about it with the moon reflecting on the surface were correct. The white light left shimmering dapples on the seemingly smooth surface, but she couldn't be distracted from that right now. Her main concern was finding Roger and to apologize for what went on tonight and in the past.  
  
Although at first she was a bit offended that Mrs. Keane had said all of those things to her back in the barn, she did have valid points. Judy did do playful pranks on Doug and a lot of those times she and Roger shared naughty shenanigans together. Basically there was nothing wrong with being a bit wicked from time to time and as long as no one got hurt there was no harm in what was done.  
  
Judy had a lot of soul searching to do now if she wanted the relationship to work to its full capacity. Insulting Roger like she just did was a big deal and she never even realized by how much. She always felt he was sensitive, but his tough guy attitude always made her forget the true young man beneath it all. She couldn't exactly ask him to change if she wasn't willing to do the same. They were in this together and to have a better relationship she knew she would have to give just as much of herself as she asked him to give.  
  
Coming out of her thoughts and glancing around she saw nothing that would even resemble a human being sitting anywhere, but at last she spotted a lone figure sitting on a picnic table not too far from the water's edge. Walking slowly towards the person she was careful in case it wasn't Roger and she didn't want to embarrass herself any more than necessary this evening. Although the moonlight was brilliant, it wasn't enough for her to easily see the person on the table, however she noticed the profile and the long pointed nose that could only belong to one person. "Roger?" she asked softly, stepping closer.  
  
He looked towards her, regarding her for a moment then turned his gaze back towards the water. As she got closer she noticed he was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms were wrapped tightly around them. Now that he'd been spotted, Roger rested his chin down on his knees, but kept his attention away from Judy. "Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you in there. I came to apologize, that was wrong of me to do that to you."  
  
He shrugged, but still did not look at her nor answer. Judy felt uncomfortable and stood at his side now wondering if she should join him up on the table. It wasn't exactly something she would normally do for a body really did not belong sitting upon an area where people eat, but maybe that's what Mrs. Keane was talking about. Sometimes it was all right to break some of the proper rules and do what felt good.  
  
Reaching forward she brushed off the table and climbed up on the bench then sat at Roger's side. This earned her a look from him and he stared at her for a long time wondering what possessed her to act so out of character. Shaking it off he turned away and still remained silent making Judy just as uncomfortable as before. "Roger," she tried again. "I am really sorry for yelling at you. I mean, I know I totally humiliated you in front of all your friends and if it's any comfort Mrs. Keane scolded me as well and had a good talk with me."  
  
That earned a snicker from the bully and he shook his head. "So, that's the only reason you came out here all nice and junk, huh? Because Mrs. Keane lectured you?"  
  
Judy frowned and shook her head. "No, but perhaps the manner in which I do apologize to you is because of her." Roger glanced at her and waited for her to continue. "At first I was going to come out here with all guns blazing and demand you take me home. I wanted no part of this gathering any longer or a boyfriend that would pull such an immature prank. Mrs. Keane more or less pointed out the fact that not only did I act out of context, but should also take a deep look within myself and think about the entire fiasco a bit more. Perhaps maybe a lot of the troubles going on with us are quite a bit my fault as well."  
  
Roger snorted and pushed his hat farther back on his head. "Gimme a break, girly. You always got a problem with what I do and I can't win any more. I tried, this entire evening, I tried doing everything I could that's right and tried to be the boyfriend you always wanted, but I guess I ain't ever gonna be that guy."  
  
That remark stabbed her and she flinched inside. After a moment of silence Judy softly replied, "Well, maybe I'm not exactly the girlfriend to you that I should be and I should work on fixing that."  
  
He arched an orange eyebrow and looked at her. "What're you talking about, girly? Yer everything a guy could want. Yer perfect."  
  
"Perhaps too perfect is the word. Listen, we've been together for a long time and I can't really see myself with anyone other then you. You've got a lot of talents going for you and I've been overlooking them for too long and hindering you from being what you truly are. If you don't mind, I would like to share more in your playful world, it could be an uplifting experience, one that would no doubt serve me well not only in reality, but as a better performer in up coming plays."  
  
Roger just chuckled and unfolded his legs then reached forward and poked her on the shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, you don't want an immature boyfriend, remember girly girl?"  
  
She sighed then smirked at him. "Did it ever occur to you that I have been blessed with a name? Judy! Will you please just call me Judy all ready? Girly just seems to put me in a generic category and it's quite maddening at times."  
  
"Oh? And here I am thinking you liked being called girly!" he snickered and scooted slightly closer to her giving her a crooked smile. "Fine, Judy it is from now on."  
  
Judy returned the smile and lowered her gaze feeling a slight blush form on her cheeks. He did say her name many times, but not as much as he called her girly. Her name sounded wonderful coming from his lips and for some reason the way he said it now sent a small shudder down her spine. She also hoped she was right to assume then that he has forgiven her and that all was going to be well from here on out. She only wished he told her what was wrong in the first place and that he was uncomfortable, but as with so many of the male species they had no clue on how to properly communicate their feelings to the woman they were with.  
  
Glancing up she noticed he was still staring at her, that lopsided grin of his still plastered on his face. It was a dopey look almost like that of a puppy looking longingly at a food bowl. "Will you stop it, Roger!" she cried and shoved him back from her. "I said I was sorry now you either forgive me or end this. I don't need you gawking at me like some goofball schoolboy with a crush on his teacher."  
  
Roger mocked being offended and draped his arm over his brow and wailed, "Ohhh, but alas I am but a schoolboy who is desperately in love with the biggest artiste wannabe in all of Bluffington! Whatever shall I do?"  
  
"Artiste wannabe! Oh, thou offend me with such language you rambunctious rogue you! A pox upon you and all your family!"  
  
"Yeah, if yer gonna give me a pox, I'm gonna give it back to you twice as badly," he laughed while wiggling his eyebrows and shoved her arm almost knocking her off the table.  
  
Fortunately Judy's as agile as she is dramatic and she caught herself before she went over the edge. Quickly she leaned towards him and shoved him harder then he did to her, but unlike Judy, Roger was caught unexpected and slipped and fell off the table making her laugh. He was lucky to have landed on his feet, but he was still embarrassed just the same from being bested by a girl.  
  
Roger brushed himself off and smoothed out his jeans and vest, adjusted his hat then took a step towards Judy and stood in front of her, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Judy looked back up to him and suddenly her insides felt all fluttery and a wash of heat flowed through her.  
  
Hoping he wouldn't see her blush she turned away, but felt his gaze on her and she had no choice then to turn back and meet his eyes. Clearing her throat and adjusting her cowgirl hat Judy asked, "So tell me Mr. Klotz," she began slowly, wanting to change the subject and get her mind on other things. "What is it with you and that tough guy act? I mean, I can see right through it, you know."  
  
He swallowed hard and shrugged while stepping closer to her, "Y-yeah?"  
  
"Mmm hmm. You act lines so well it would make Shakespeare proud of you...heck, you make me proud of you." Judy felt her cheeks redden again from that, shocked that she would admit such a thing.  
  
If he heard that comment he didn't show it and it looked like he were pondering something to respond sarcastically to her with. Instead, he inhaled slowly and moved his hand up to softly touch her face then whispered, "Never have mine eyes fallen upon such beauty as thee. 'tis as if I have surely died and gone to heaven for I am in midst of an angel."  
  
Judy blinked behind her shades at his words and just about swooned from them and his touch. "Say something else," she breathed, leaning against his hand that was resting lightly on her cheek. Drama and romance were her certain downfall and with Roger's words and the ambiance of the lake Judy was quickly finding it more and more difficult to resist him.  
  
Roger contemplated for a moment then grinned gently, his eyes half closed, "Alas, my heart doth yearn to spend every moment with thee. When we are apart I feel my very life force weaken and wither like that of such a lonely flower neglected by the rain."  
  
A soft gasp escaped Judy and her eyes widened. "My play! The Fiddling Merchant from Bluffington! Where did you...how?"  
  
"Shhh...I told you I went to all of your plays. I lingered on your every word, Judy. Now do you believe me?" he replied with a soft chuckle.  
  
Judy was in shock yet again truly amazed that Roger had such words coming out of his mouth, let alone her words! Words that she had written not too long ago and had spoken on stage no less. She just looked at him over the rims of her sunglasses. She misjudged him immensely and it would seem that she made him out to be less then what he truly is. Acting and other artistic talents along with care and concern for nature were all highly evident. What else would he offer to her if she were to choose to stay with him? "My soul mate," she whispered, reaching up to touch his cheek, suddenly realizing things. "Have I truly found you at last?"  
  
Roger shrugged not knowing what she meant by soul mate, but by her dreamy response he figured it had to be a good thing. "Could be, girly, could be."  
  
She sighed dreamily and knew that her fighting back desires for Roger were rapidly coming to an end. She could hold back from him and his charms no longer. He was proving more and more to her that under his bully exterior beat the heart of a truly unique and caring human being and she was thankful to finally see him for what he is.  
  
"My dear Sir Roger of Klotz, I can resist thee no longer, try as I might. Show me the wonders of thy world," she whispered, using words from the play he just quoted earlier sort of as a challenge to see if he really did know her writings as well as he boasts, it was also suiting for it reflected her feelings as they were now.  
  
Not one to disappoint, Roger sifted his fingers through her auburn hair and responded, "Indeed I shall my fairest of the fair. Now let me partake in the sweet wine of thy lips so that we may explore that world together."  
  
Judy gasped from that, he did indeed know her play. Reaching up she grabbed for his bolo tie and pulled him down towards her so their noses were almost touching and their lips were dangerously close. She closed her eyes part way and anticipated feeling his lips pressing against hers. The warmth of his breath sent shudders down her spine making her fingers tighten on his bolo tie, her stomach clenching in eagerness.  
  
Roger leaned forward and was just about to kiss her when a horrendously loud "Yeeeeeeee-Haaaaaaaah!" filled the air and reverberated though out the entire area almost knocking both Roger and Judy over from the intensity.  
  
"Joeycookamonga! What the heck was that?" he shrieked and tried his best not to fall over on top of her from the blast that startled him.  
  
Wide-eyed Judy shook her head and looked about to where the sound had originated. "I do believe that the square dance you mentioned they were going to have has started."  
  
Roger snorted and rolled his eyes. "Losers. You would think they'd start things off a bit more civilized then that."  
  
Suddenly Judy was struck with a brilliant idea. Leaping off the table she grabbed Roger by his wrist and pulled him with her in the direction of the barn. "Come on, Rog, let's go see what all the hoi polloi is all about. Shall we?"  
  
Locking his knees and pulling back from her Roger vigorously shook his head. "No way, Judy! I ain't one for dancing and besides, I don't know how to do that kind of stuff!"  
  
"Oh, pishaw! Do you honestly believe that after all the events we've been through thus far I am actually going to let you not participate in something of this nature? Sorry, Roger, but you brought me here for a good time and that's exactly what I intend on having! Now, quit complaining and let's go do-si-do!"  
  
He grimaced and allowed himself to be dragged back towards the barn and into something he never dreamed he would be partaking in. He could only hope he could fluff his way through this and not be humiliated like he was starting to fear he would be. Granted he asked her to a dance, but part of him never expected to actually be dancing. It wasn't part of his master plan, but plans seemed to have their own thoughts on how the evening was going to go and Roger knew he just had to sit back and enjoy the ride sometimes no matter how mortified he might be about the activities and how much of a fool he might have to portray.  
  
To be continued... 


	5. Dances With Klotz

**Quick note here, the square dance song "Pussycat" is a real one, but I did not write it. I just found it on a site, thought it looked interesting and just borrowed it. My apologies to whomever wrote it, but thank you for posting it in the first place since it helped me so much with my story**  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
In a last ditch effort, Roger tried in vain to firmly plant the heels of his boots into the ground in hopes to stop Judy from dragging him off to the barn for the square dance that was apparently about to start. "Knock it off, Judy!" he cried as she gave him another good yank bringing him to her side. "I changed my mind, I don't wanna go to some dopey barn dance. I don't know how to do that!"  
  
Judy stopped and looked over her shoulder at him with a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. "And for one moment do you honestly think that I would know anything about a square dance? Oh sure, I've been do my brother's little hoe down a while back posing as his sick cousin, but that was just a spur of the moment thing and ended up being one of my greater performances that was impromptu. This, however, should prove to be more exciting and perhaps one of my best theatrical moments yet!"  
  
He flinched seeing that she was starting to get dramatic and like a sheep going to the slaughter Roger once again allowed himself to be towed behind Judy by his wrist knowing it was futile to resist or protest. "Fine," he mumbled under his breath. "Let's just get this over with since I ain't got much of a choice in the entire matter."  
  
"Oh, Roger, it isn't going to kill you to do this and besides, since neither of us really have a clue on the proper way to do a barn dance we can't exactly be wrong in what we attempt. I am also sure that half the people on the floor won't know what they are doing either and are just here for a good time. Just look at the bright side, dancing is usually some form of romantic ritual so who knows where something like this will end up," she blatantly stated lowering her sunglasses and giving him a playful wink.  
  
Roger thought about that for a moment then felt his tension slowly beginning to ease from her assurance. Perhaps she was right in saying that this could have its positive possibilities. They almost engaged in a kiss so few minutes ago and that was a definite progress in her attitude about him in public. Things were definitely improving tonight and he only hoped that this dance fiasco wouldn't set him back on her bad side.  
  
As they approached the barn Roger noticed the floor was packed with people and a slight shudder went down his spine. More people meant more eyes upon him making a fool of himself! Roger literally slammed on his brakes and pulled Judy back. "Uh-uh girly! I changed my mind! There's no way I'm going in there and making a spectacle of myself!"  
  
She smirked hearing him use a bigger word then normal and shook her head. "Rog, come on, there's nothing to be afraid of. Besides, they'll have their own partners to worry about and could care less about what you and I do." Once more she pulled his arm and led him inside the barn and onto the dance floor. The people that had gathered there were more interested in chatting with each other than worrying about the new couple that joined them, but that still didn't make Roger any less nervous.  
  
He was just about to open his mouth and protest one last time when there was a whine of microphone feedback that caused everybody to gasp and quiet down. "Sorry 'bout that folks," a large man with a round face apologized as he tried adjusting the microphone to suit him. "Right. Now then, if I could get ya'll to make two separate lines, guys on one side gals on the other we can get this dance started!"  
  
Slight panic filled Roger, but a gentle squeeze on his arm from Judy seemed to calm him slightly. "We'll do fine, just watch what the others are doing and listen to the calls the man makes. Just try to have fun. Remember, we're in this together." She gave him a smile and released his arm so she could join the ladies behind her all ready forming a single file line.  
  
Roger stepped back and took his spot in the line of men across from Judy. He smoothed out his vest, straightened his hat and sighed. Stupid rituals, he mumbled to himself then smirked. If he was going to do this right acting like a wimp like Doug wasn't going to get him through it. Judy only seemed interested in him making the effort to try this dance and it didn't matter if he did it right or not just as long as he was having fun doing it. If this is what she wanted so be it.  
  
"Honour your partner," the fat man called out. "Swing your honey high and low, Allemande left with the corner, your own a dosido. Ladies make a left- hand star, go full around the set, When you get back home, you box the gnat, with a grand old right and left. They call her Pussy Cat, oh Pussy Cat, when you meet her promenade, Take her home and balance out, and dosido that maid. Swing with the corner lady, boy, a little bit more than that, Allemande left, I'll tell you why, pass that lady right on by, and swing at home with Pussy Cat. Meow!"  
  
The words coming from the caller were very quick and with a good beat in time, but Roger had no clue what he was talking about and just did the best he could copying the actions of those around him. When the call began Roger had stepped forward and took Judy by the hands and swung her around him with such awkward force that she almost hit the couple next to them. Fortunately they were having a good time as well and just laughed it off easing the minds of both Judy and Roger.  
  
It was a quick pace and very difficult to keep up to and understand, but it was a very good work out none-the-less. A few times Roger did manage to stomp on Judy's toes, but she paid him back by doing the same though by pure accident as well. The beat was easy enough, however and Roger wasn't sure what made him enjoy this more than he thought he would. He lavished being with Judy and the music was so upbeat and silly that he couldn't help but smile through the entire routine in spite of himself.  
  
Judy was also thrilled to see him enjoying himself so much and not as embarrassed and demure about it as he was only moments ago. It was very unusual to see the rich punk behaving so playful all of a sudden, but at the same time she must have looked out of place herself as always being the laid back kind of girl. The words of Mrs. Keane flickered in Judy's busy mind about loosening up and enjoying things for once and that made Judy smile all the more. It felt good to let go and not follow that damn script she always did.  
  
"Walk around your corner, partner Do Paso: Partner by the ole left hand, the corner right you know. Partner left, gents star right, straight across the set, To a left-hand whirl, find the corner girl, now box the gnat you bet. Now pull her by, swing the right hand lady, swing her high and low, Corners with the left hand, now do a Do Paso: New corner right, new partner left, roll promenade you know. Pretty little girl with a turned up nose, Freckle face, and I suppose, That's why they call her Pussy Cat. Meow!" The caller then had a hearty chuckle and the song and dance came to an end getting a huge round of applause from the dancers.  
  
Roger joined in on the applause and was quite winded much to his surprise. He didn't imagine that such a dopey style of dance could be so tiring, but fun. He turned his attentions to Judy who was smiling broadly and clapping enthusiastically. She looked absolutely stunning and elated and Roger couldn't help but grin at the sight of her.  
  
Sensing she was being watched, Judy turned her head towards Roger, but instead of the normal snappish attitude she'd have with him for gawking, she blushed instead and stepped to his side. "That was definately a vigorous bit of dance if I ever saw one! It left me quite breathless and parched, but it was well worth the sacrifices. I fear my toes won't ever be the same, but such a price to pay for bliss!"  
  
Wiping his slightly sweat dampened brow, Roger extended his arm for her. "Care for some punch then, my sweet?" he questioned, flinching inside on how stupidly corny that sounded.  
  
Judy nodded thankfully and took his arm and allowed herself to be led from the dance floor to one of the tables that lined the wall filled with various cookies and pastries and the all important punch. "Who would have thought that anything as wild as that could be so fun and uplifting!" she panted before taking a sip of her drink.  
  
"Y-yeah, that was kinda dopey wasn't it?" Roger snickered his reply and once again wiped his brow, pushing his hat back slightly on his head. "Well, for being our first time I don't think we did so bad."  
  
"No, I think not," Judy reached to refill her cup and glanced back over to the stage watching the little band moving about getting ready for another song. However, the caller picked up an accoustic guitar and sat down on a tall stool in front of the microphone this time. "Another dance so soon?" Judy queried.  
  
Roger shrugged disinterested and swallowed the rest of his drink and stepped from her side to get the ladle for the punch to get more in his cup. "I sure hope not. I ain't in the mood for another one of those things for a long time. You stepped on my feet a lot out there! I don't think my poor toes'll ever be the same!" he snickered.  
  
Judy smirked at him and gave his arm a playful shove. "Yeah, and you stomped on mine quite a bit yourself. So consider it payback."  
  
The whine of the microphone once again cut through the air causing the entire room to groan its misery while the caller got flustered for repeating his mistake from before. "Sorry ya'll," he chuckled. "Gonna have to get used to this thing if I don't want ya'll to beat me off stage!"  
  
"Loser," Roger muttered as he drank from his cup and got an elbow in the ribs as Judy heard his comment. He arched his brows at her, but she just grinned and lowered her sunglasses to give him a wink. "Well, he is! I mean, how could ya possibly do the same stupid thing twice in a row? You'd think the goofball woulda learned the first time he did that."  
  
"Perhaps he just does it on purpose to get the attention of everyone. I mean, that would be a lot more polite then yelling for people to pay attention."  
  
Roger shrugged. "Eh, still stupid if you ask me." He was about to take another ladleful of the punch when the lights suddenly dimmed allowing the lanterns that were lit and hanging on posts to really shine. "What now?" he grumbled, annoyed, and put his cup down while pushing his hat back farther on his head so he could see better.  
  
"All right ya'll," the caller droned into the microphone. "I think now that everyone's cooled off and calmed down a bit it's time for a change in the dance pace for the moment. So, girls, grab yer guys and guys grab yer girls and head back to the floor because we're gonna play ya'll something nice and slow."  
  
Something nice and slow? Roger shuddered. That was even worse then doing a dopey square dance! He knew how to slow dance, any loser could according to Roger, but he wasn't prepared for this. He anticipated western dances like line dancing and he sort of hoped they'd actually have one since he took line dancing lessons ages ago just for something to do and he rather enjoyed it. He really wanted to show off to Judy and impress her with his talent, but he could see he wasn't going to get that chance.  
  
Much to his chagrin Judy was staring at him with a sort of sentimental look on her face. Roger gulped and tugged at the collar of his shirt. "So, uhh...n-need more punch?" he stammered hoping to distract her from wanting to go out on the dance floor again.  
  
She shook her head. "No, my thirst is quite satiated for the time being. Come, I think this dance is way more up to our standards of civil rituals." Judy then took Roger's hand and once again led him to the center of the dance floor. Still holding his hand she turned to face him and put her other hand on his hip. "Don't tell me you don't know how to dance like this either?"  
  
Roger gulped again and numbly nodded that he did, suddenly feeling demure. With a slight hesitation, Roger managed to put his arm around Judy's waist, but kept her at a moderate distance from him. He glanced towards the band on stage and impatiently waited for them to start the song. It all ready felt like an eternity and he wanted this over with even faster than he wanted the square dance over.  
  
As the song "Tennessee Waltz" began, Roger just about froze where he stood getting a smirk from Judy. "You're all talk aren't you, Klotz? You always brag about this or that, but when it comes time to pay the piper you freeze. Let's go to a dance, you said, it'll be fun sweeping you across the floor and showing all those hick losers how to dance!"  
  
He furrowed his brow and shook his head. "Nuh-uh, I'm just a bit...ummm...tired that's all." Swallowing hard, Roger stepped forward and began the dance.  
  
Judy pushed him gently. "Rog, stop acting like this is a death sentance or something. You're stiff as a board. Loosen up, you might enjoy this. You're in my arms after all, isn't that what you wanted?"  
  
With a defeated sigh and shrug, Roger tried his best to relax. He didn't know what was wrong with him. Normally he would have relished and welcomed this kind of closeness with Judy, but for some reason this time he was nervous. Perhaps it was the lighting and dance that got to him or just the fact that Judy was finally becoming more at ease about public contact from him and he wasn't quite sure how to handle it.  
  
However, as the song continued on he began to relax more and more getting a satisfied smile from Judy. "Better now?" she asked getting a slight nod from him in return and his traditional crooked smile. Judy nodded back and stepped a little closer to him narrowing the gap between them. "I felt like you were dancing a mile away. Slow dances are meant to be danced close."  
  
Roger smirked and boldly pulled her closer still so they were almost touching. "Yeah, yeah, I always heard it called touch dancing too. Dopey song though, coulda been something a bit more romantic. I don't wanna hear about some sap losing her man to some goofball."  
  
"Geez, you sure know how to word things don't you? However, I will agree with you, I'm not exactly fond of the song myself word wise, but the melody is beautiful and the setting is very romantic."  
  
"You think barns are romantic?" Roger asked with a snicker getting another shove from her in response. "Maybe they're romantic for cows and horses, though."  
  
"Roger!" Judy stifled a laugh and looked up at him over the rims of her shades as they slowly slid down her nose. "You're impossible, you know that?"  
  
Arching his eyebrows, Roger gasped playfully. "Oh! You wound me!" Getting a giggle out of her like he hoped he leaned close and said softly. "You talk too much. I thought slow dances were supposed to be romantic and quiet. What's with all the chit-chat?"  
  
"Yes, I suppose you are right. Too much vocalization can be a bit disenchanting in a situation like this. Ah, well, perhaps I'll just do the more traditional thing one does during a slow dance."  
  
"Oh? And what's that, girly?"  
  
She didn't reply, but instead reached up and placed a soft kiss upon the tip of his pointed nose. "That," she said quietly feeling that oddly wonderful clenching sensation in her stomach again. Calm yourself, Judith, she scolded herself. Even though the setting was romantic to her, this definately was not the place for her to try and get that kiss she missed out on earlier when they were out on the picnic table before the dance started.  
  
However, giving Roger the go-ahead in anything like that was like giving a crook the combination to the bank vault. He quirked an orange eyebrow while releasing her hand and instead wrapped his arms around her waist, but did not stop dancing with her. Judy draped her arms over his shoulders and smiled up at him, pleased he didn't question her like he normally does when she acts out of character on those rare occassions.  
  
Roger twitched his nose as the moisture from her kiss started to evaporate and began to slightly tickle him. "Girly wants a kiss huh?" he asked more to himself than to her. Judy opened her mouth to reply, but was silenced quickly as Roger tenderly kissed her which was a surprise when normally they were rough and clumsy at first only to improve as they continued.  
  
Judy blinked behind her shades, her mind buzzing on what she should do now. Deep inside she loathed public affections like this, but that pleasant clenching of her insides was warming her and almost encouraging her to just relax and let things go as they may. With a soft sigh, Judy reached up and completed the kiss hearing Roger sigh in return.  
  
They kissed for long minutes, but never stopped their dancing. Roger could vaguely hear the song still playing, but he wasn't worried about it anymore and neither was Judy. It felt wonderful being so close, their bodies moving in time with the music. See, kissing him in the open didn't cause the Apocolypse now did it, Judith? she thought to herself as her fingers caressed over the back of his neck getting a shudder in return.  
  
Sadly, the song came to an end as did their kiss. Judy shyly lowered her eyes, but kept her arms draped over Roger's shoulders. "Thank you for the lovely dance, Roger," she said softly, still caressing over the back of his neck with her fingers.  
  
Roger shrugged. "Yeah, too bad it ended so fast." Just then he started feeling strange, warm actually, warm and very relaxed. He wanted to kiss her again, but wasn't sure if she'd allow that. Willing to take that chance, Roger leaned forward to try, but was stopped once again by that idiot caller's microphone screeching.  
  
"Ok, folks, that was right pretty and all, but let's get back to the hoedown!"  
  
Both Roger and Judy flinched at both the noise and the fact another square dance was going to start. "I don't wanna do that again!" Roger whined getting a nod of agreement from Judy.  
  
"And neither do I. Perhaps later on this evening, but right now I'm a bit warm and wouldn't mind heading outside to see if the chill of the night air can cool me down." It was a slight lie. Judy was a bit warmer then usual, but it was nothing she couldn't handle or wasn't used to. The lights she always worked under while performing on stage were just as hot or hotter than what was here in the barn. She just wanted to get away from all these people and enjoy the peace outside.  
  
Roger led her off the dance floor and almost got run over by the eager and fresh party-goers anxious for another square dance. He shook his head and started to make his way towards the big barn doors leading to the darkness outside, hoping that there wouldn't be as many bodies out there as inside the barn.  
  
Right before they got within ten feet of the doors, Roger suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Judy furrowed her brow and turned to look at him wondering what made him stop this time and only hoped it wasn't that Larry guy again or she'd have something to say about it. They needed to make ammends and stop their foolish little war, but as Judy looked around there was no one about and Roger had a dreamy look on his face, his head tilted back slightly and he was sniffing the air.  
  
"Roger, what's wrong?" she asked totally confused on what his problem could be now for she couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary let alone see anything that would cause him to behave like this.  
  
"Weenies!" he cried happily and loudly and dragged her away from the door, through the crowd of people and over to a table where a large stack of cocktail weenies were just brought out and placed down. "Outta my way, losers! They're all mine!"  
  
Judy shook her head at not only his bad manners, but his sudden selfishness as she watched him practically devour the little hot dogs. She suddenly remembered that Roger had next to no dinner since she upset him and caused him to leave during their meal, so his actions now were as a result of her own ignorance. She had no choice than to let him eat his fill no matter how greedy and obnoxious he behaved.  
  
Not being able to do much else until he was finished with his gluttony, Judy leaned back on the table and watched the other party-goers dancing to the new song. She tried to listen to what the caller was saying, but really didn't understand the gibberish and couldn't for the life of her figure out how she and Roger made it through that insane ritual.  
  
Taking a casual glance towards Roger she saw him groping for a glass filled with punch, but it was just out of his reach and he really wasn't making an effort to get it since he was much more concerned about protecting his meal from getting taken from him. With a smile and shake of her head, Judy pushed it towards him receiving a grunt of thanks in return. "Enjoy, Roger," she said softly and went back to her people watching.  
  
Not far off she spotted Mrs. Keane who was dancing with a very handsome looking man. They both were excellent dancers and smiling broadly. Judy wondered if she and Roger had looked that happy and good when they were attempting to square dance. A blush reddened her cheeks as she thought about that and the dance that followed. She was still stunned she actually kissed him on the dance floor and was even more surprised that she allowed him to carry on with that kiss as well.  
  
Mrs. Keane then glanced towards Judy and gave her a quick wave making Judy hurridly wave back before Mrs. Keane disappeared into the crowd of dancers with her partner. Taking another look at Roger she noticed that he was slowing down with his eating and reaching for the glass of punch to wash down his meal.  
  
With a satisfied sigh, Roger patted his stomach and strode to where Judy was standing. "That helped a lot! Too bad I didn't eat before we cut a rug or I could have went for another round of that dopey dance. I can really put all these losers to shame when it comes to line dancing."  
  
"You keep bragging like that Mr. Klotz and I will be forced to converse with the caller and have him start up a line dance purposely to see if you got what you say you do."  
  
Roger's dark eyes widened and he hastily reached forward and grabbed Judy by the arm and headed towards the open barn doors once again. "Ah, no thanks, girly. I had enough dancing and junk for one night and besides, didn't you wanna take a walk?"  
  
"Ah, yes, I did mention that earlier didn't I? Well, only if you are indeed certain that you don't wish to partake in any more of the dancing. Like I said, I'm sure I could get the caller to start up a little line dance for you." Judy gave him a sly grin and took a few teasing steps back towards the dance floor.  
  
He vigorously shook his head and offered her his arm to take hoping to get her to change her mind about speaking to that annoying dance caller. "Shall we be on our way outside, my sweet? I hear the view of the moon and stars is quite lovely this time of night."  
  
Judy smiled warmly at his attempt to be romantic and linked arms with him. "But of course my dear Sir Roger of Klotz. Let us be on our way and hopefully find some peace and serenity for a little while before partaking upon another activity that comes our way." With a soft snicker, Roger led Judy towards the open doors and together they vanished into the darkness of the evening.  
  
To be continued... 


	6. MakeOut at the OK Corral

The night air was cool and much welcomed as Roger and Judy stepped out from the stuffy confines of the barn. A slight breeze wafted over them and Roger removed his hat and fanned himself off for a moment before looking around the area letting his eyes become adjusted to the change in lighting.  
  
Lanterns, poles with torches and various candles were dotted about bringing light to some of the paths and to show where objects like the corral and picnic tables were so no one would mistakenly walk into them. Off in the distance towards the Poulet Mountains heat lightning flickered signaling a storm someplace there. With some luck it would just stay out that way and not venture to the party and spoil the evening's activities.  
  
Roger inhaled the clean, cool air and sighed while placing his hat back upon his head. "Well, Judy, where ya wanna go?"  
  
She shrugged and glanced at him. "It really doesn't matter. We're out of that hot place and away from the crowds so this is very pleasant." Judy looked around trying to see if there was anywhere they could go without bumping into someone. "How about just head back towards the lake? That should be a nice place at this time of evening."  
  
"Sounds good to me," was his quiet reply and together they slowly made their way back towards the path they had earlier went down before that led towards the lake. At least this time it was going to be more of a pleasure trip as opposed to the uncomfortable situation earlier on.  
  
They headed down the path slowly and in silence. Roger wasn't really one to start a conversation because he never seemed to say the right things in a situation such as this. Judy, on the other hand, was too filled with tons of flooded thoughts to even think of speaking right now. The dance and kiss were burning in her memories and her emotions were fighting with her on what to make of it.  
  
As always with her it was the battle between showing her feelings for him or being prim and proper in the public eye. She cared deeply for him and after doing some slight soul searching earlier and realizing his feelings as well as hers for once, things seemed a bit different for her.  
  
For one thing, that strange clenching in her stomach would return every time she thought about being close to him and as the images of their kiss on the dance floor flickered through her mind. She wasn't quite sure what it was exactly, but it seemed to be some sort of eagerness for contact with him. Judy wondered if Roger felt that strange sensation as well, but knew it was pointless to ask him. He'd lie no matter if it happened for him or not since the braggart was strong in him as well as arrogance and not wanting to look bad in front of anyone.  
  
The evening so far was very enjoyable to her and she was definitely glad that Roger invited her and more glad that she accepted his invitation. He proved to her that he could be a gentleman and even though that occasional smart-assed punk would still surface, she couldn't hinder it since that was just as much a part of his being as dramatics was part of her own.  
  
Roger suddenly started growing uncomfortable with the silence and he squirmed slightly making Judy break the silence. "You want to head back to the dance?" She mentally flinched from that, what a stupid thing to say.  
  
He quirked a brow and turned towards her. "Nah, I think I had enough of that junk to last me the rest of my life."  
  
Judy almost wanted to make a sharp comment back to him on that to remind him that he was enjoying himself earlier and didn't mind dancing about like some fool, but she held her tongue. The soft light flickering from the passing torches cast unusual shadows about and seemed to make her date look all the more stately and handsome than normal. She lowered her gaze shyly from him making his traditional smirk appear on his face.  
  
"What's wrong, girly? All this mush getting to you?" he asked sarcastically, leaning closer to her.  
  
She pushed him away and smirked back at him. "For your information I'm..." but she couldn't continue as that strange clenching came back to her insides making her softly gasp. It was almost as if every time Roger got close to her or she thought about any sort of contact with him it would happen. Hidden eagerness and desires were no doubt finally surfacing within her, but she refused to acknowledge them as usual.  
  
"What was that? I didn't quite hear you," he asked almost mockingly.  
  
Judy grumbled to herself. He could be so wonderful one minute and a jerk the next. Trying her best to ignore those sensations still coursing through her as well as his stupid remarks, Judy shook her head and continued their walk towards the lake. She looked at her surroundings and noticed there was another barn off a little ways from the one the dance was held in and somewhere off in the wooded fields a bonfire appeared to be burning.  
  
"You ever think about living someplace like this?" Judy questioned, her gaze still towards the fire, wondering what it was for.  
  
Roger shrugged. "It crossed my mind. I like where I'm at now, though. Got a great view of the mountains from my bedroom, I got a big yard and lots of peace and quiet. Guess I really don't need to worry about tons of space just yet."  
  
"Oh? Are you thinking about moving out of your mansion someday?"  
  
"No, but I can't exactly have a family and still live with my mom," he snickered then realized what he said and felt his cheeks redden with a blush.  
  
Judy quirked an eyebrow at that statement and also felt her cheeks grow warm. She knew he wasn't one to talk about romantic and mushy things and marriage definitely wasn't in his vocabulary, but she did think of it from time to time what it would be like and if she had a definite future with him.  
  
She tried not to ever dwell on that topic either since she knew she always had her scripts to write and plays to perform or direct, but it did flicker through her mind from time to time. She wasn't sure how Roger felt about that, though. He most certainly did not seem like the marrying type, but on the other hand a rich guy like him would no doubt want to have his family name carried on.  
  
Both she and Roger were extremely close, but topics like that never came up and hardly crossed their minds, but it did happen from time to time. They did have trouble showing their true feelings and Judy knew that deep down if she wanted anything constructive to come from this relationship she would have to loosen up about those feelings and no doubt be the one to make the first bold move.  
  
Tonight, however, Judy was feeling a bit peculiar and her openness about the kiss she allowed on the dance floor only proved she was breaking down those barriers of her hidden emotions about Roger. Her thoughts shifted back to that kiss and the memory began to warm her and cause her stomach to clench yet again, this time it was strong enough to cause her to close her eyes and stifle a gasp.  
  
Hoping Roger didn't notice that, Judy clutched tightly onto Roger's arm and together they walked down a long path parallel to the lake. However, Judy didn't stop to gaze at the moonlit water like Roger assumed she would. Instead she kept walking in the dark not quite certain where they would end up, pulling Roger with her. It wasn't a brisk walk, but it wasn't as slow and romantic as he might have liked. He wasn't going to question it since he knew that Judy would probably give him an answer avoiding the question like he would if she asked him the same thing had it been he that were changing direction.  
  
As they continued on their unguided way they came across many party-goers walking in the opposite route from where they were headed. Judy quirked an eyebrow and watched them for a moment, slowing her pace before stopping completely. "What's going on, Roger? The party can't possibly be over already?" She asked though not really interested as her mind began to drift back to the dance.  
  
He shrugged, "Eh, must be time for the campfire and sing-a-long junk. I think they're gonna be telling spooky ghost stories too, but I don't remember the schedule. You wanna go?"  
  
She shook her head. "Not right now. It sounds a trifle bit mundane, but perhaps in a while I'll find myself interested in listening to such banter. As for now I just want to share some quiet time with you."  
  
Roger wasn't going to argue with that. He had hoped almost all evening to finally get some peace and quiet with her and to be away from all prying eyes and company. Something stirred inside of him as well with that kiss on the dance floor and he knew Judy must have felt the same way otherwise she wouldn't have suggested this alone time and bypass that dopey lake as he called it.  
  
Roger also was now having second thoughts about the master plan of his for the evening. Judy's been more open to him tonight than ever before and he felt a new found respect for her in that sense. He also felt she deserved the respect back that she was giving him and a more quiet, romantic evening was probably more what they needed instead of some selfish plot he dreamed up so long ago.  
  
He looked around trying to see where they were headed and saw another barn looming in the near distance. He recognized it as the one Mrs. Keane kept all her wagons and hay bales in along with a few tools and old saddles. Roger had spent many hours in there helping out with forking the hay up into the loft or just helping to grease a squeaky wagon wheel. It was also the place where he gave Larry, the groomsman, his first ass-kicking, but Roger didn't want to remember that right now, though he knew Judy would want to know about his animosity towards Larry one of these days.  
  
Judy suddenly spotted the barn and began to guide Roger towards it, a bit more determination in her stride. Roger practically had to jog to match her pace that was unexpected and almost painful for him to keep up in with his pointed boots. If he was correct the barn should be empty and there were no horses about in this area so Roger honestly couldn't think of any reason why Judy would be so interested in going towards it.  
  
As they neared it Judy pulled him towards the side of the wall and absently began toying with his bolo tie in silence. Arching an orange eyebrow Roger looked at her curiously and slightly winded from the quick walking he just did. "What's wrong, Judy, I thought you wanted to stay by the lake? Everything ok?"  
  
She nodded, leaned her back against the barn and gently pulled at his tie bringing him closer to her and found herself saying almost seductively, "Oh yes, everything is just fine my dear Sir Roger of Klotz. I finally found the solitude I think we both desperately need and secretly desire. Now then, shall we re-enact the scene we left back at the square dance?"  
  
"And what might that b--" he got cut off as Judy leaned forward and took his lips in hers giving him a clumsy kiss. "N-now I remember," he murmured, slightly stunned that she would bring this on.  
  
"What better place to continue with a much needed and longed for kiss. There's nothing but the stars above us as witness to this amorous act. Forgive me, but after all the activities today and the closeness we shared on the dance floor...well.I don't know." She shook her head truly not being able to explain.  
  
She didn't feel much like arguing or denying her feelings now. Toying with his bolo tie Judy pondered many things, but realized they all led back to that strangely wonderful clenching in her stomach. She felt his dark eyes staring down at her and she knew he was probably confused about what brought this about. Judy wasn't quite sure herself, but she was certain she wasn't ready to stop just yet. This area was also secluded enough for her tastes so no one would interrupt them mistakenly.  
  
Looking up at him only served to intensify her feelings and her doubt and hesitation were quickly cast aside. Judy leaned her back up against the barn wall and dug her boot heels into the dirt to support her position. She then clutched his black vest tightly in her fingers and pulled him close up against her.  
  
Roger shuddered slightly, not just from being anxious, but from fear she was going to say "Ugh, forget it!" and roughly shove him aside or pinch his nose tightly between the knuckles of her index and middle finger like she did once before. Roger was just about to ask her if everything was still all right when his eyes slowly began to close feeling her fingers caressing the back of his neck.  
  
"J-judy," he said softly. "You sure you wanna do this out here? I mean, normally you like the privacy and junk. We could always go back to my limo. I mean this ain't exactly private."  
  
She slowly shook her head and gently kissed the tip of his nose. "No, the chances of someone disrupting another kiss are less likely to happen here than near the lake. Besides, I just want to spend some peace and quiet time with you and perhaps we can head back and participate in another dance or go to that campfire gathering if it's still going on later."  
  
Roger flinched at the thought of going back to dance. He wouldn't mind another slow dance, but not another hokey square dance. He had enough of that for one night! However, the campfire did sound interesting. He wasn't exactly enthused about the ghost story part, but the s'mores and roasted marshmallows and weenies did appeal to him at least.  
  
Glancing to the side at a few of the guests still heading to the campfire in the woods someplace, Judy made sure no one was watching before she pushed Roger's face down close and took his lips with hers, kissing him tenderly. At first Roger tensed, but slowly relaxed as the kiss continued while Judy began to caress the back of his neck once more, soothing his fears and doubts.  
  
He sighed suddenly feeling very relaxed and content while cautiously putting his hands on Judy's hips to keep her close to him. Roger cracked open an eye to make sure she wasn't going to hit him before he returned the kiss causing her to sharply inhale as her stomach suddenly clenched yet again. It was almost as if her hidden desires towards him were doing all they could to burst out and let themselves be known.  
  
As the kiss continued she could almost see the pages of her life script falling away for once and allowing her to follow her heart and not do what she considered to be proper and planned. She also could only hope that she wasn't encouraging something wrong in all of this because she knew Roger all too well and when given the go-ahead he would take all he could take and then some.  
  
Judy softly sighed, slid her hands from the back of his neck and clutched his shoulders tightly and tried to shift her position to bring him closer without losing her balance. As she did so her hips rubbed up against his causing a wave of heat to shoot through her. Roger must have felt it too for a soft moan escaped his throat and he pulled from her mouth and gazed down at her. He said nothing, but instead nuzzled against her neck brushing his lips tenderly on her skin giving Judy a chance to moan as well.  
  
Like with the kiss they engaged in on the dance floor, Judy's moral judgment was trying its best to protest her actions in public, but things just started feeling too wonderful for her to ignore. Roger's breath was warm upon her neck sending shivers down her spine making her squeeze his leather-clad shoulders tighter. He began to lightly kiss her neck and along her jaw line causing her thoughts to become clouded. He also repeated the accident she caused earlier by gently rubbing his hips against her getting a soft moan of approval.  
  
Suddenly Roger yanked his head quickly from her and pulled back. She opened her eyes and saw him glaring off to the side, bristling with anger. It was then that she heard a few whistles and shouts like "Ride 'em cowboy!" or "Go for it, pardner!" coming from some of the guests heading over to where the bonfire was in the woods. Roger mumbled something foul under his breath and removed one of his hands from Judy's waist to give one of the passers-by the one fingered salute. "Why I oughta go over there and cream some of those losers for not minding their own beeswax!"  
  
Judy sighed and pulled his head back around to face her. "No, Rog, just ignore them, please. They're not worth the bother." Giving him a tender kiss on the tip of his nose Judy hoped to get his attention back to her. When his dark eyes finally turned back to her she softly commented. "Now then, shall we continue with our rendezvous?"  
  
With a thankful nod Roger once more took her lips with his and tried to relax and forget about the disruption. Swallowing hard she pushed his head down against her neck hoping that he would continue what he was doing before. Nuzzling against her Roger could smell the faint hint of incense lingering in her soft hair. The scent made Roger nuzzle against her more, his mind becoming intoxicated with desire, his hips rubbing gently up against her causing her to gasp loudly from feeling his eagerness for closeness.  
  
"Oh, glorious rapture, thy name is Roger!" Judy exclaimed, fingers tightening on the back of his vest, pulling him close. However, her own rapture was halted and reality came back to smack her in the face as she heard a snide comment of "Hey you pervs, go get a room!" Blinking behind her sunglasses Judy suddenly realized where they were at and what they were actually engaging in.  
  
At first, anger with herself burned within quickly followed by humiliation. "Come!" she growled, roughly pushing Roger away from her and yanking him by the wrist. "I will not subject myself to such banter and interruptions by riff-raff such as they!" With a nod in the direction of the rowdies that said the comment, but were continuing on their way towards the fire with laughs and whistles, Judy led a bewildered Roger away from the wall and towards the large barn doors that were open wide, practically inviting them inside.  
  
Upon entering the barn Roger's thoughts about it were confirmed for this was definitely the place where Mrs. Keane kept her wagons and things and it was completely empty. Judy stood her ground firmly and was glancing around the entire building as if looking for something or someone, her face screwed up in concentration. Hoping to keep out of her sights, Roger stood quietly kicking at the dirt floor with the pointed toe of his boot.  
  
Before long Roger began to fidget, he didn't like the sudden tense vibes he was getting off of Judy. She was standing a few feet away from him, her hands planted firmly on her hips, her lips pressed tightly together as she gazed about. With a satisfied click of her tongue, Judy reached out and snagged Roger by his wrist and pulled him over to a ladder leading up into the hayloft.  
  
"Head up there," she snapped almost angrily making Roger flinch again. "It's probably the only place for us to have privacy and besides, I seriously need to discuss something with you and can't exactly have with those immature voyeuristic rich red-necked hicks annoying us constantly."  
  
The rich punk was truly nervous now. By the tone in her voice she sounded highly annoyed and very agitated. He was scared to even go up into the loft for fear of a severe scolding from Judy for not stopping her or for not controlling his own actions. Climbing the ladder Roger had a sinking feeling in his guts like he was going to a death sentence. What could Judy possibly want to discuss with him anyway and in such a strange place as a hayloft? He was certain it had to be bad otherwise she could have just yelled at him on the ground.  
  
Hoisting himself through the trap door, Roger turned to offer Judy a helping hand which she waved off saying she was fine. As she joined him and began to brush hay dust off her skirt, Roger began to drift away, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. He looked around at the bales of hay that weren't stacked neatly like when he does it, but Mrs. Keane hasn't had him around much while she was preparing for the party.  
  
"So, uh, nice roomy area Mrs. Keane got for her hay, huh?" Roger said nervously, still not sure how to read the stern look on Judy's face other than something bad.  
  
Judy inhaled deeply and stared at him. Though her eyes were covered with those ever present sunglasses of hers, Roger could feel her gaze and he began to fidget all the more becoming self-conscience about what she was going to say or do. "Well, then," she started, "do you have any clue as to what you have been doing? I mean honestly, did you think I couldn't see what you are trying to pull? I saw your plan right from the start!"  
  
Roger gulped and felt suddenly warm while a sick feeling began to build in the pit of his stomach. She knew what he originally had planned, but how? He changed his mind a long while back realizing that wasn't how he wanted that part of their relationship to go. Well, he did yearn to further things along, but not in the crude plan he originally thought of.  
  
Tugging at his collar, Roger mustered up a weak, nervous smile and choked, "Wh-what ever d-do you mean, girly...uhh...J-judy?"  
  
"You can't honestly say you didn't think I'd notice how tight those pants of yours are?" she demanded, glancing down at his crotch.  
  
Roger shuddered and suddenly grew self-conscience of his jeans and he felt his cheeks warm with a blush. He was just about to answer when Judy stepped towards him and put her hands on his shoulders, her tone of voice and the look on her face suddenly softening. "Couple your manner of dress along with that refreshing new attitude of yours, well, let's just say it was very hard to maintain myself and I nearly lost it inside your limo on the way here. That kiss was electrifying and so was the one on the dance floor. It was then I knew I couldn't keep resisting you any longer."  
  
"So, what're we gonna do about it?" Roger asked, stepping back a bit so he could embrace her fully seeing now she wasn't going to smack him or bitch him out.  
  
"Use your imagination," she softly replied before she leaned up and gave him a firm kiss on the lips.  
  
Roger sharply inhaled by this and then let out a slow, relaxed sigh as he reveled in the kiss, his arms drawing her near. Judy deepened the kiss, her fingers tightening on the back of his black vest. She shuddered slightly knowing she had to keep her emotions in check, but it was becoming more and more difficult the longer their kiss continued. She wasn't exactly sure what she wanted at this moment, but she was a firm believer in letting things go as they may and was in no mood to deny any of it from happening.  
  
To be continued... 


	7. The Trail of Fears

Howdy! Sorry for the long delay in this chapter, but not only was I having tons of drama in reality, I was also plagued with horrible drama with the computer and was scurrying to save everything I could just in case of a crash. In fact, things still aren't going my way computer wise. I just had this chapter all fixed up and whatnot and just when I went to upload to here, my computer yet again decided it was a good idea to freak on me and ate this chapter! Fortunately from my mishap over a year ago with my computer eating almost the entire story, I became all the wiser to save multiple copies of chapters as I worked on them. The only misfortune I had this time was I didn't even have that chance to save anything from the newly modified and updated version of the chapter. That took me to redo the saved, rough chapter all over again. I know that this isn't my fave chapter and with all this nonsense going on with it I am just happy it's completed now and I can get on with the ending and I promise you it won't take as long to get out. Enjoy.  
  
****************************************************************************  
  
Sunlight softly filtered in through the cracks in the barn's wall causing the dust particles to sparkle and dance like little living things and bringing the much needed warmth to the world just waking from the cool night. Somewhere outside a lone rooster was crowing and in the distance horses were neighing no doubt anxious to be fed their breakfast. Morning was doing its best to arrive and all the living things were more than happy to welcome it.  
  
Roger stirred slightly, lingering between the waking and sleeping world. His thin body shuddered with a slight chill causing him to curl up in hopes to keep warm. However, his body still trembled and he groped out blindly, anxious to find his blanket. Furrowing his brow, Roger grabbed hold of something, but it definitely was not his blanket, but something strange, something that should not have been on his bed.  
  
Cracking open an eye to look at what his fist was clutching, Roger suddenly found himself sitting bolt upright, his fist full of hay. "What the hell?" He stared down in disbelief at the hay, his mind trying to sort out where it came from and why he was surrounded by it and devoid of clothes no less! Panicked he looked about seeing he was in a hayloft, his clothes strewn around him.  
  
Then his look fell on Judy who was lying close to his side also absent of clothing. Roger stared at her for a moment, his heart hammering wildly in his chest. Slowly, his mind started to shake the cobwebs caused by sleep from it and he began to remember what happened last night, a sly smirk tugging at his lips.  
  
His night couldn't have been more spectacular than it was last night and what he had originally planned was actually brought out into play by Judy, not himself. He looked down at her again, her eyes were gently closed, her chest rising and falling in peaceful sleep. Roger reached out and tenderly touched the side of her face. How he yearned to wake her up in a repeat of last night's activities and his desires began to make themselves known, but suddenly he pulled his hand back from her as if she were on fire. It was morning! They had actually spent the night here in Mrs. Kean's barn and the party was well over.  
  
Roger pressed his palms hard against his eyes hoping that their being here at this time of day was just a dream, but when he removed his hands the sun was still shining brightly through the cracks of the barn walls. He was in trouble deep this time and he doubted there was any way out of it. Not only was he going to be in trouble with his mother, but Judy's family as well. Mrs. Kean would probably understand and not worry about it, but his limo driver had been waiting all this time for the couple to return and they never did so he would be furious without a doubt.  
  
Judy would almost certainly be the worst and this could definitely cause another fight between them and what a sad way to continue something that was so wonderful just a few hours ago. Roger scratched the side of his nose and sighed very frustrated then blinked in mild surprise. He smelled her. Just about every inch of his body smelled like Judy not to mention the hay they had tussled in. So not only did he smell like his girlfriend, but he smelled like horse fodder. Anyone that he'd come across would no doubt know exactly where he was all night and exactly what it was he had done.  
  
With a groan, Roger stood up and nervously began to pace. He needed time to think about this, he needed to figure out what to do before Judy woke up and began to rant about where they were and what time of day it was. He didn't mind the punishments he himself would get, but he didn't want Judy to suffer as well. He made up his mind then and there that he would take full blame, but full blame for what? He couldn't exactly tell her parents, "Gee, Mr. and Mrs. Funnie, your daughter's late coming home from the party because I thought I'd help her lose the chance of ever seeing a unicorn."  
  
With a groan that sounded more out of frustration than disappointment, Roger reached down and grabbed his dollar sign embroidered boxers out of the hay, shook them off and pulled them on with a grunt. He then turned to look at his beloved still snoozing peacefully in the hay. He didn't mean for any of this to happen and for the first time he regretted acting like such a jerk about last night's outing. "Joeycookamonga! Klotz, you really messed things up now," he moaned and sank back down onto the hay leaning his head against his hands.  
  
Not knowing what else to do, Roger gathered up the remainder of his clothes and got dressed as quietly as he could so he wouldn't wake Judy up. Confusion was eating at him and the only way he knew how to deal with it was just to be alone for a little while and hope that he could figure out what to do before Judy realizes he's gone. Deep down he knew she would play off that this over-nighter wasn't a big deal, but he knew it would upset her more than she would let on and he had to find a way to remedy all of this so neither of them would be in too serious of trouble.  
  
Putting on his hat, Roger then leaned over and softly kissed Judy upon her cheek. She was so beautiful and last night was something he'd treasure more than all of his money and luxuries put together. Reluctantly Roger pulled away and stood up, brushing the hay from his jeans. He couldn't allow himself to get too excited right now all though that was proving easier said than done.  
  
"Dammit," he grumbled and walked away from the scene of their passionate evening and headed towards a few high piled bales of hay to ponder and collect his thoughts. Finding a suitable place to sit and hide, Roger kicked a bale out of his frustration before sitting heavily upon it resting his elbows on his knees while his head and shoulders drooped as sudden thoughts flooded into his mind about his performance last night replacing the fear he had about them being in the barn all night.  
  
He knew how much of a critic Judy could be with just about everything and he almost dreaded her evaluation for their rendezvous. "Let's try that again and this time be more emotional!" he could almost hear her saying or worse yet, "That was it? My god what a nightmare! That's definitely NOT impressive one bit!" He winced and pushed his palms against his eyes and pressed trying to block out everything around him and prayed he could resolve any problems this was also going to bring. He suddenly felt ashamed and embarrassed and only hoped he wouldn't become humiliated to boot.  
  
Judy on the other hand was oblivious to all of Roger's turmoil. She was still dozing, but slowly beginning to come out of her dream state. However, unlike Roger, she knew exactly where she was and fully remembered what happened last night. With a blissful and happy sigh, she turned and reached out to find her beau, but just like Roger's efforts to find a blanket, her hands came up empty. She frowned and opened her eyes, blinking from the sudden brightness that made her frown more. "Roger?" she asked, rubbing her eyes to rid them from the sleep that seemed to want to linger there.  
  
"Who?" was her reply, but as she looked up she saw it was only a beet- tailed owl overhead peering down at her with its great yellow eyes. "Who indeed," she muttered, annoyed, still looking around for Roger.  
  
A strange tight feeling began to clench her stomach and this time it wasn't caused by her eagerness for intimacy. This time it was due to solid fear and betrayal. Roger was not only gone, but his clothes were as well so she knew he just didn't get up and stretch his legs or take a gander at their surroundings. Judy bit her lower lip to stop it from trembling, but it was no use. He left her and it was painfully obvious what his true intentions were for last night. Doug was right about Roger and his plans and she wasn't sure what upset her more, the plans or the fact that Doug was right for a change.  
  
Gathering up her clothes and trying not to think about it just yet, Judy slowly got dressed, her mind turning over any possible event or reason that made Roger leave. She finally noticed that it was morning and the dread of her getting in serious trouble with her parents flooded over the Roger drama she was having. "Great," she muttered angrily while pulling up her skirt. This was quickly turning into a fiasco and she was starting to regret last night the more time went on.  
  
Her parents she could actually handle. All she had to do was think of something terribly dramatic and they'd buy it. Her parents were so out of it anyway she could tell them aliens abducted her and they would probably just say, "That's nice, dear." Still, the matter with Roger was going to be something way more difficult to work with. In her eyes he took advantage of a situation to get what he wanted and now that it was over and done with he wanted nothing more to do with Judy now that she became damaged goods.  
  
Quickly standing up to brush the hay and dust from her clothes, Judy looked around for some sign that Roger was still about, but the loft was very quiet and quite empty. She felt tears start to burn her eyes from her thoughts and frustrations, but she squeezed them tightly while shoving her sunglasses on in order not to give Roger the satisfaction that he finally broke her down into rarely shed tears. How could he do this to her? After all this time she truly believed that his feelings for her were sincere.  
  
Taking a step forward she winced slightly from a pain in her back and tightness in her legs. She felt very stiff and sore and for the moment a smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth as she recalled last night. He was so gentle with her and it was doubtful that anyone would believe her if she were to gossip about it. He was quite nervous as well, but so was she so it worked out wonderful for they at least were in the same frame of mind and wouldn't pressure the other. Everything about it was perfect, that is, everything up until the point of awakening.  
  
Though angry with his absence, her thoughts continued drifting back to his electrifying kisses, his firm, but gentle way of gripping her to him, his long fingers caressing over her body..."Oh, god," she shuddered and closed her eyes as if feeling all those sensations yet again. Taking a deep breath to clear her mind, Judy tried to focus on the situation at hand. She's been abandoned and she had to find Roger and demand why.  
  
Thinking back she knew she had to give him the benefit of the doubt, after all, he could have just gone to find a restroom or something like that, but she couldn't understand why he would have taken every last stitch of clothing to do something small and mundane. She shook her head and took a careful step forward to allow her stiffness to exit on its own without much pain to herself. Her feelings about this now became jumbled and started to confuse her.  
  
On one hand she was delighted beyond belief that they were now bonded closer than ever, but on the other hand she felt used and betrayed by his absence. How she hoped to wake up in his arms and have him tenderly kiss her and perhaps relive the moment without the nervousness they shared last night. It wasn't going to happen now, however. No matter what his excuse will be for leaving her, the mood could not be the same.  
  
Carefully stepping over a few broken hay bales, Judy made her way towards the trap door they climbed through in what seemed only moments ago. Before heading down she knelt to the floor and cautiously poked her head through the door to take a look around to make sure all was safe. It would be her luck to get caught coming out of here and without Roger to help bail her out she would be in bigger trouble than she was no doubt in now.  
  
Seeing the coast was clear, Judy put a foot on the first rung and was about to start heading to the floor when she heard a soft sneeze followed by a sniffle somewhere up in the loft. She paused, straining her ears to find the source of the sneeze or any sort of movement that would betray the maker's presence. The barn was silent and try as she might she couldn't pick up on any more sounds of movement, but she was not to be swayed by the lack of such things. She knew she definitely heard something and she was determined to find out what.  
  
Walking slowly away from the trap door, Judy studied her surroundings and noticed that bales of hay were stacked in tall columns and some were just strewn about, no doubt just from falling over from neglect. She followed around some of the standing ones like a maze and much to her surprise came upon a very dejected looking Roger sitting on a lone bale. She gasped softly both happy and relieved to have found that he truly did not leave her, but that still didn't stop her from being a bit cross none-the-less.  
  
"Roger, what in god's name are you doing? Do you know what you just put me through now when I awoke to find you gone?" she asked trying to not sound too nice or too angry.  
  
He just glanced at her and shrugged, but she spotted a small grin appearing behind his frown. "Eh, just had to think, girly."  
  
Arching an eyebrow, Judy lowered her sunglasses and peered at him over the rims. "Think about what? What could possibly be more important than my feelings? I mean, gee Roger!" She closed her eyes tightly to try and calm her temper and frustrations she felt rising. "Do you know how afraid and upset I got waking up to find you gone? I didn't know what to think!"  
  
Roger cocked his head to the side and slowly stood. "What did you think, girly?"  
  
Now she was embarrassed and felt her cheeks redden in a blush. She knew he'd be upset hearing she thought he abandoned her, but at the same time he knew he'd be more upset if she didn't confess. Taking a deep breath, Judy explained to him about hoping to find him at her side and to snuggle a bit and possibly re-enact that special scene they engaged in last night, but when she found herself alone and his clothes were completely gone she only dreaded that he took advantage of her and left her now that he got his wish.  
  
The rich punk stared at her in disbelief. He was totally speechless on what to say in response to that statement. "You honestly thought that? Judy." but he trailed off and shoved his hands deeply into his jeans pockets and walked away from her. He then stopped and turned, still with the look of hurt and disbelief registering on his face.  
  
Her heart fell. She knew she should have been more trusting to him than she was. He never forced anything on her and all though her stupid brother mentioned that she needed to be careful because Roger was unquestionably up to something, she didn't mind in the least bit now. She knew if Roger did brag about anything it was mainly to shut up her nosey little brother and not do anything to intentionally hurt her.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Judy pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers and sighed. "Look, it was a spur of the moment thing. I just panicked not seeing you with me. Couple that and the fact that it's no longer evening.well.I just lost my head. Will you forgive me? I know you wouldn't have used me for your own passionate whims. I know your feelings for me are must stronger than that."  
  
"And what's that supposed to mean?" he asked, pushing his black hat back off his brow while striding towards her. "Did the earth move for ya or something last night?" he snickered.  
  
Judy smirked at him and put a hand on her hip, pretending to think about it for a moment. "Hmmm...actually more like the sinking of Atlantis if you ask me," was her playfully sarcastic remark, but instead of getting a snotty comment back let alone a laugh she was stunned to see Roger's expression fall.  
  
He stared at her for a moment before dropping his shoulders and sinking back down on the hay bale she found him sitting on. Judy was taken aback honestly never thinking that Roger would be downed by a playful insult, especially one given to him by her. Taking a few steps closer she saw that he was hurt more than she thought. His gaze was on the ground and he looked literally like he was completely defeated.  
  
"Roger?" she asked softly, kneeling down in the hay in front of him. "What's wrong?"  
  
He didn't answer, but instead closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. Roger then cracked open an eye when he felt Judy's hand on his knee. He looked at her and felt that wonderful warmth spreading through him that only comes about from her touch. With a sad heavy sigh Roger said quietly, "I disappointed ya, girly."  
  
Judy blinked. "You...disappointed me? How? You've done nothing wrong."  
  
"Sure I did, gir---uhhh...Judy. Look at the outside! It ain't exactly midnight ya know! We're late! We're in trouble, and it's my fault!" Judy was about to protest that they were in this together when he waved her into silence. "It's always the guy's fault, girly. No matter what, I'll be getting the blame more than you and that's ok."  
  
She lowered her sunglasses and peered at him over the rims. "Roger, don't get all noble about this. I sort of brought this on so if anyone's to blame, it would be me."  
  
"No." he replied shortly and pushed her hand off his knee while quickly standing. Giving her a shrug, Roger started to walk towards a small ventilation window and looked out through the slats. "I messed up, girly, just face it. I messed a perfect evening up in more ways than one."  
  
"Messed things up? Roger, you did nothing of the sort!" Judy joined him by the window, gently grabbing his shoulder to turn him to face her. "The party was delightful and I am so glad you invited me."  
  
"It ain't that," he muttered and turned his attentions back out the window. It was hard for him to admit what was truly wrong, but he had no problem in saying what was not. However, he knew that Judy wasn't going to let up until he told her what was really bothering him, but he just wasn't quite sure how to put it.  
  
Taking in a deep and calming breath, Roger softly said, "I messed up what was probably a one time deal last night. I know I was no good and all that and you ain't gotta pretend that it was any good. You probably woulda rather have had someone that knew more on what he was doing instead of a loser like me."  
  
Judy wanted to laugh out loud, but knew that would hurt his feelings and pride more than they all ready were even though they had no reason to be. "O, my Sir Roger of Klotz! Is that what is bothering you?" she exclaimed lightly, trying to be supportive without humiliating him. "Roger, it was new for the both of us. Do you honestly think I had any more clue than you did?"  
  
He quirked an orange brow and looked up at her. "Get off it, girly, you read a lot so if anything that probably helped you have more brains on that subject over me. I just sucked, admit it and carry on with your life. I sucked at that and I got us both in huge trouble to boot and I wasn't exactly a perfect gentleman with you last night either. So, I wouldn't blame you if you left. After I get ya home, you're welcome to say good-bye to me for good."  
  
Moving her hand under his chin, Judy gently pushed him up to look at her. "I don't think I can leave you now even if I wanted to. The first time is bonding of hearts, second time is bonding of souls and I would like very much to share a second time with you."  
  
She then leaned up and tenderly kissed the tip of his pointed nose making him blush. "I have no intentions on leaving you for as I stated last night I do believe I finally found my soul mate. Just don't get sappy on me or anything like that. I don't know what I'd do if I were to lose my smart- assed punk."  
  
Judy hugged him close for a moment then pulled back and touched the side of his face. "I don't regret anything that happened last night either and I do look forward to an encore performance very soon," she said softly, winking behind her sunglasses.  
  
Roger smiled crookedly at her and said with a smirk, his confidence slowly returning. "We could now ya know. We're late anyway so there's no time limit." He snaked his arms around her while giving her a light kiss on the lips making her close her eyes and sigh.  
  
"All though that is extremely tempting dear Roger, we cannot. We still have the dilemma of being here all night. I'm sure your mom might be worried even though you say she is not and I know that my folks are probably going crazy looking for me and Doug isn't going to be making matters any easier. However, I think a big concern we should have, though, is Mrs. Keane."  
  
Roger winced. "Oh man! I forgot about her." Quickly, he pulled back and took Judy by the hand, leading her towards the trap door. "Maybe we can sneak out of here without anyone even noticing." He hoped as he helped Judy climb down the ladder then followed after she was a ways below.  
  
"No, I'm sure she knows we're on the estates someplace," she called up to him after she reached the ground. "After all, your chauffeur would have had to have been left behind and he no doubt would have knocked on the mansion door looking for us."  
  
Roger winced again at those thoughts and jumped down off the last few rungs of the ladder making a soft thud on the barn floor. He then noticed that the farm equipment that normally gets stored in here wasn't about. It wasn't like Mrs. Keane not to put her wagons away. Dread crept over him as he wondered if she knew he and Judy were up in the loft last night and didn't want to bring the wagons inside and disturb them.  
  
Brushing off his vest, he took Judy by the hand and pulled her out of the barn and into the brightness of the morning sunlight outside. They then made their way quickly and quietly around the lake and back towards the barn where the dance was held. "Dammit, the horses are gone," he groaned, shaking his head as he looked towards the corral where they put Zeus and Hera during the party. "It's a super long walk back to the mansion and we're going to be even later getting back home if we do that."  
  
Judy sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly. She wouldn't admit that she was afraid of getting into trouble over this, but deep down she was very concerned. No one would know the real reason behind them sleeping in the barn, but she knew that this was probably going to be worth a grounding on her part even though she was technically too old for such things. Her parents would use the 'while you're living under my roof you will obey my rules' on her and that's what worried her the most.  
  
Roger suddenly squeezed her hand nervously as he heard the faint sound of wagon wheels in the distance coming their way. His first instinct was to run off and hide someplace, but he knew they had to get back to the mansion and it was quite a long walking distance so he calmed himself and waited for the approaching wagon hoping that it would take them back and with some luck they wouldn't have been too missed and he could slip his way out of their severe tardiness without much drama or pain.  
  
To be continued... 


	8. Sappy Trails

Welcome back and welcome to the last chapter of this crazy story! Now forgive me, but I must take a rest from this story and writing for a wee bit. This thing gave me enough drama and I'm very glad it's over. Thanks for all your comments and support on it. I am going to be trying a King of the Hill story soon and I all ready have two chapters completed, but won't be posting them until I get a bit ahead and can post weekly like I did with this one. I also have a few other Roger/Judy stories on file, but they're not completed. I also have a few Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules ones from ages ago and just might post those to satisfy my fans. Right now I'm going to stretch, wiggle my fingers and bid Roger and Judy a sweet sleep that they deserve as well as I. Do not fret, they'll alway be around and you'll always get stuff from me, each an improvement as my time goes on. Don't worry, I still have that dark and disturbing Sci-fi in the works and hopefully that'll make it up some time early next year. It won't be for the faint of heart and as I stated before, for any Doug-bleeding hearts out there, you'll definitely want to avoid it since it's not what you think it'll be. Enjoy and see ya'll real soon.  
  
****************************************************************************  
  
As the wagon drew closer the couple noticed the driver was none other than Larry, the groomsman Roger hated. However Larry was not alone for in the back of the wagon were about eight other party-goers from last night all chatting away happily, but looking quite partied out. Roger sighed a bit, relieved. Apparently, he and Judy weren't the only ones that stayed behind yesterday so this made things a little easier for the both of them. He glanced at Judy and smirked, "Looks like we're in the clear so far, girly."  
  
She just nodded and turned her attentions back to the wagon and the huge gray dappled Percherons that were pulling it. With Roger's treatment of Larry she wondered if the man would even stop for them, but as he got closer the wagon slowed then came to a halt directly in front of them.  
  
"Do ya'll need a ride back to the house?" Larry asked tiredly, but with a smile.  
  
"Yes, thank you," Judy replied quickly knowing that anything that would come out of Roger's mouth to Larry would surely be nasty. Roger helped her up onto the wagon and he took a seat at her side while brushing off hay dust from his black jeans that constantly seemed to appear there just to annoy him.  
  
Judy bid her fellow riders good morning while Roger continued to fuss with his clothes not liking them to be dirty at all. She rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses knowing his ego was starting to build up again, but she let him be not wanting to say anything or encourage him noticing Larry and start another fight. Instead, she faked a yawn and leaned against him forcing him to stop his preening.  
  
Not sure if he should hold her close or just play it cool, Roger just glanced down at her and sighed, smiling nervously for it almost felt as if all eyes in the wagon were on them and knowing what they did last night. Reluctantly, he eventually put his arm around Judy's back and held her to him. He only hoped that when they got home the Funnie family wouldn't be too harsh on Judy and most important he hoped that Doug would keep his big nose out of their business.  
  
The ride back to the mansion was long only because of the uncomfortable silence between all of the occupants. Roger doubted that any of them did what he and Judy did last night and it made him fidget as he again felt they all knew what they did. Judy, however, chose to ignore it all and just kept her head against Roger's shoulder causing him to hold her closer. She wasn't angry with him or upset, just numb and in bliss over what happened. She was also still amazed that she was the one that actually set forth in allowing it to happen, encouraging it no less.  
  
At least they weren't the only stragglers from the party so that lessened her discomfort. Had she and Roger have been the only two remaining she was certain that would have put them in a worse predicament then they already were in. Now they had a definite excuse and could always just say that they got caught up in all the fun and just fell asleep thanks to the great food and all the energetic dancing.  
  
Finally, after going through what seemed like endless acres of land, the wagon pulled up near the corral at the back of the house where Judy first met Mrs. Keane. "Alright pardners, your ride back is over. Hope ya'll enjoyed yourselves last night," Larry drawled boredly, prompting the guests to leave the wagon. He looked tired and anxious to get this over with so he could either get back to bed or start the rest of his day's chores. Obviously, looking for and picking up partygoers weren't part of the normal routine for him.  
  
Waiting until all the other guests were off, Roger jumped down from the wagon and held up his hand to help Judy. As her boots hit the ground, Larry clucked at the horses and the wagon slowly turned around and went back the way it came either to get more guests or to get put back into the barn where they had just come from. Judy watched him go for a moment then looked back to Roger giving him a slight grin. She hesitated in moving though, her legs still slightly shaking from last night and from the bumpy wagon ride over.  
  
Judy was about to ask what they should do when suddenly a loud but cheery voice filled the air. "Well, look at what the cat dragged in! Looks like I had me more partied out partiers then I expected." It was Mrs. Keane and she was standing a few feet from the patio doorway with a bright pink apron on that said 'Horsemen do it in the hay.' "Come on in and get some grub," she called out to her guests before she disappeared back inside the mansion.  
  
Roger inhaled deeply and gave a weak grin to Judy. "Well, girly, looks like she was expecting people to crash for the night. I guess we're in the clear so far. We ain't gotta explain nothing to nobody."  
  
Judy grimaced from his horrible usage of grammar and gave him a playful shove. "Yes, perhaps, but I seriously doubt any of these people did what we did last night."  
  
Roger blushed and shyly kicked at the dirt with the toe of his boot, avoiding her gaze. "Come on," Judy laughed and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the door. "If she's offering food let's take advantage of it and then find out what happened with your chauffeur and our family."  
  
He smiled and let her lead him in to the mansion and hoped that Mrs. Keane wouldn't pick on them as much as he feared she might. The apron she had on almost seemed to scream out "I know what you did Mr. Klotz!" at him just by what it said. He shook his head to chase that random thought away and held out an empty chair for Judy allowing her to sit down. Mrs. Keane smiled seeing the couple and walked to them setting plates down in front of them. "Well, it seems like you two settled your differences last night, huh?"  
  
Judy's eyes widened behind her sunglasses and she hurridly kicked Roger under the table who was already starting to get a braggart's look on his face. "OW! Um! Oh, ah, yeah...we did," he blurted and gave Judy a sneer for kicking him.  
  
Judy just smiled calmly and folded a napkin over her lap. "Yes, Mrs. Keane, Roger and I had a good long chat about everything and it seems like we're exactly where we want to be with our relationship now."  
  
Roger bit his lower lip and felt his cheeks burning with a blush once again. Yeah, we sure do, he thought to himself, beginning to fuss with his silverware to avoid Mrs. Keane's eyes or Judy's for that matter.  
  
"I see," she simply replied. "Well, don't ya'll worry about your folks. I called your mom, Roger, and explained to her that you and your girlfriend were having a great time and I offered a place for you to stay the night. Your chauffeur is in the guest room and was more than happy to stay when I offered him some food for this morning. Funny, you can get a lot of people to do just about anything if you feed them. Anyway, your mom said she'd call the Funnie household and inform them that Judy was staying. So, don't worry about going home to frustrated and worried parents, it's all been taken care of."  
  
Judy felt a wave of relief spread through her and she looked gratefully up at her hostess. "Wow, thanks Mrs. Keane. I was really worried about that!" Roger just nodded, too shocked that she was looking out for them that much. He looked up at her as she dropped some pancakes on his plate and his mouth worked silently trying to find the right words to thank her. Being that nice was hard for him to do and he was having trouble.  
  
Mrs. Keane waved at him to silence him. "It's ok, Roger, you don't have to thank me. You've been a lot of help here so that was the least I could do for you." He just nodded, glanced at Judy who was already eating, but smiling about what Mrs. Keane said, and he started to eat as well. "Enjoy your breakfast you two. There's more on the stove and on the counters, just help yourselves. I'm going to check what the other party-goers are doing and if they want some chow. See ya'll in a bit."  
  
When she left, Roger let out a small sigh and removed his hat, setting it on the table. "That's a load off my mind, girly," he said, stuffing a large helping of pancake into his mouth. "Now we don't have to think of some loser excuses."  
  
She nodded. "You're not kidding. I was trying so hard to think of a good story for everything. Why did we not come home last night, where were we, what were we doing? I was about to lose my mind over it! I mean, I may write plays with ease, but I never had to honestly think up a good excuse for something real that would be believable. In my plays I control what the response will be so it's always good."  
  
Roger quirked an orange eyebrow at her rambling, but nodded because he did slightly understand and did agree. He was always making excuses in school and at home so he knew the game well. He also could sweet talk a lot of people and would get off the hook that way. This time, however, he wasn't sure how he was going to do any of that, but his friend already settled everything so he was in the clear.  
  
Just as the couple finished off their meal, Mrs. Keane rematerialized back into the kitchen to drop off some dishes and cups she found somewhere in the mansion. "My word, of all the days for me to tell the maid not to come in 'til later it had to be today!" she said with a laugh as she set them all down into the all ready filled sink. Wiping her hands on a towel she looked over to Roger and Judy and grinned. "Can I get you two some more? I got plenty since half of the partiers chose to clean up first before getting grub."  
  
They both shook their heads. "No thank you, Mrs. Keane," Judy responded, dabbing the corners of her mouth with her napkin. "The food was absolutely divine and much needed this morning. Thank you so much for your hospitality and for your help and genorosity."  
  
"Well, don't go finishing up on your thanks just yet. If you two want, I have washrooms about the place waiting for some weary guests to clean up. There's only one free right now, but soon as another clears up you both are welcome to take a shower."  
  
Roger stood and brushed off his clothes, still lightly covered with hay dust. He could definitely use a good shower actually and nodded, taking her up on her offer. Judy reached over to him and pulled a sprig of hay out of his hair and giggled. "I think you need to clean up a little more than I do," she commented, holding the hay out for him to see making him blush more then he's already been doing since they got back to the mansion.  
  
"Then it's settled," Mrs. Keane said with a laugh. "I'll go get those showers ready and when you're done I'll notify your chauffeur and you can get back home."  
  
As she disappeared out into a hall someplace, Roger looked at Judy with a smirk. "Shoulda told her we would use the same shower stall."  
  
Judy's eyes widened and she cuffed his shoulder playfully. "You cad you! Is that all you can think about? Oh! I'm truly shocked." She then dramatically draped her arm over her eyes and sighed pitifully.  
  
"Oh get off it, girly. You were the one seducing me last night, remember?"  
  
She blinked at him and felt her own cheeks suddenly redden with embarrassment and she looked away then walked to where Mrs. Keane disappeared. "Ummm...well, I couldn't help it. Those pants were just driving me wild."  
  
"Uh huh, you weren't exactly after my pants. You ain't dating my pants and you sure didn't do to my pants what you did to me last night. In fact, you didn't even want them around!"  
  
"Shh!" she hissed, suddenly stopping and turning to face him, trying not to smile. "Don't say stuff like that here! You never know who's listening."  
  
He shrugged. "I'm sure Mrs. Keane's got ideas of what we did last night, girly. I mean look at us, we're covered in hay dust and junk for one thing. You also look a little different."  
  
Judy removed her sunglasses and looked at him, "How so?"  
  
"Eh, brighter, I dunno."  
  
Judy smirked and stepped forward giving him an uncharacteristic kiss on the cheek. "Yes, and you look even more smart-assed then before and if anything that's a dead give away."  
  
"Oh! Call me names will ya," he laughed and grabbed for her, but Mrs. Keane stepped back in sight and headed towards them. Roger quickly sobered, but couldn't help but snicker softly as Judy tried to compose herself as well.  
  
"All right you two, there's two shower areas ready for you. There are clean towels and plenty of hot water so take your time. When you guys are done just meet back into the living room. I'll have your chauffeur waiting and you can get back home and get some rest."  
  
The couple nodded and went down the hall searching for the bathrooms. Before they separated, Judy gave Roger a small wink and then disappeared into the room, shutting the door behind her. Roger glanced down the hall and saw that Mrs. Keane was gone and he was almost half tempted to open the door where Judy went, but he knew he had to behave. He just wanted to scare her, but there was a time and a place for that and this probably wasn't a good place or time to do that.  
  
As he shut the bathroom door behind him, he heard the water starting in the other room indicating that Judy was all ready getting cleaned up. With a relucatant sigh he began to take off his dusty clothes and smacked at them with his hand in hopes to clean them up some. Judy was going to have the worst problem with dust since she had suede clothes as opposed to his leather.  
  
Setting his garments neatly on the counter, Roger leaned inside the shower and turned on the water. It was still hard to believe that just about twelve hours ago he and Judy were at the party and then engaged in something wonderful. He sighed as he stepped inside the stall and the hot water washed over him, warming and relaxing him.  
  
In a way he almost felt bad washing because he could still slightly smell the scent of incense that was on Judy that seemed to cling to him now, not to mention the barn and hay. All of those things were reminders that last night wasn't a dream, but the good thing was that when he smelled those scents again he'd surely be reminded of what took place.  
  
After he finished washing and redressing, Roger stepped out into the hall and heard voices coming from the living room area. He held his breath hearing Mrs. Keane talking to Judy. He could almost imagine that Judy was telling her all sorts of things about him, but as he stepped closer he just heard that Mrs. Keane was suggesting to her that she's more then welcome to join Roger when he comes by to tend to his horse and help out. To his relief, Judy agreed saying she would love to join him.  
  
Judy then spotted the black clad bully standing in the door way and grinned at him. "Well, you are finally here. Shall we exit and head back to our homesteads?" She asked while stepping towards him.  
  
He really didn't hear what she said. Now that she was cleaned up and dust free she looked more beautiful then ever to him. Not that she wasn't before, but now in the morning light she looked simply ravishing and not being able to control it, he felt himself starting to get aroused. There was no way to hide it, his pants were already tight enough, but he didn't care. Roger just smirked and took her by her arm and nodded. "Oh yeah, let's get back home. I think I had enough of parties to last for a little while."  
  
Mrs. Keane walked them to the door and opened it, nodding towards the white and gold limo parked outside. "There's your ride, kids. Now, don't worry about anything, all right? Remember, I told your folks what happened and in fact, I just called your mother now, Roger, to let her know you two are on your way. Judy, it was a pleasure meeting you and I will look forward to seeing you again and maybe we can continue our chat. After all, I was in a lot of plays when I was in school, so I'm sure we got lots to share."  
  
Judy flinched at Mrs. Keane's sudden bad grammar which reminded her of Roger's sometimes awful way of talking, but shook it off and thanked her for her hospitality. She then looked to Roger over the rims of her sunglasses, "Shall we?"  
  
He almost leered at her, still feeling worked up. "Yeah, we shall all right." He squeezed her arm and bid Mrs. Keane good-bye and thanked her as well for all she has done for them last night and this morning. He also found himself admitting to hoping to see her again soon and hoping she'd have another party in the near future.  
  
The chauffeur opened the limo door and Roger allowed Judy in ahead of him. He then mentioned to his driver to take Judy home first then he gave a quick wave to Mrs. Keane and disappeared into the limo, the door closing behind him. With a sigh Roger leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes. "Thank god that's over with! I don't think I could stand one more minute of being in that place right now."  
  
Judy quirked a brow and stared at him. "Wow, Roger, don't sound too enthusiastic about leaving there. I'll start to think that you didn't enjoy your time with me."  
  
Grumbling mentally, Roger rubbed the side of his face and squeezed his eyes shut. "Listen, it's not that, I just couldn't stand being in there with her and all her friends right now. All I kept thinking is they all knew you and I boinked up in that loft."  
  
Roger paused seeing her grimace at his poor choice of words, but he continued knowing he would just encourage a lecture if he stopped and corrected himself. "Even if she did know she wouldn't tell my mom, but it's just the idea, Judy." He sighed and waved it off. "Ah, it's not important. If she knows I can't change that."  
  
He then shuddered by the look Judy was giving him. She almost seemed hurt that he was glad to be out of the mansion. Either that or she was starting to get those thoughts in her head that now that he took her purity from her he wasn't going to be with her anymore. Furrowing his brow, Roger put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. With a soft sigh, Judy rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He rubbed her arm and softly said, "I wouldn't trade last night for all the money in my bank account."  
  
With that, Judy's eyes snapped open. She knew how he felt about money and about being rich. Pulling her head back she looked at him over the rims of her sunglasses, "You really mean that don't you?"  
  
Roger bit his lower lip then nodded slowly. A quiet calm then went through Judy and a smile started tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Oh Roger," she sighed and embraced him as best as she could. "Thank you...no matter what was said in the barn and earlier, nothing has more meaning then what you have said just now."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, don't get it around though. I got a reputation to uphold, ya know," he said with a laugh.  
  
She just rolled her eyes. His little bits of sarcasm weren't going to get her down for now she saw his true feelings about last night. She wasn't quite sure if he really loved her or not, but she was not sure how she really felt about that word either. She cared deeply for him, more than she thought she would or should for that matter. Was it love, though? Closing her eyes and pushing her head against his chest, she tested it out, "I'll love you if you let me. I shan't give it away freely for you must also return that love to me."  
  
Roger grimaced, not at the word, but how she phrased it all. "Yeah, sure...I ain't got a problem with that. If passing up all the money in the world doesn't prove how I feel, well..." he trailed off and was squeezed tightly by Judy who was happy to know that was his way of giving an affirmative answer.  
  
Gently, Roger removed Judy's cowgirl hat and bowed his head down in response to her squeeze and lightly kissed the top of her head. Judy looked up at him, her sunglasses perched on the end of her nose allowing him to see her eyes completely. "You have truly given me the answers I have sought after for many an eve. Seal thy words with a kiss so I shall know the seriousness of them," she whispered.  
  
He recognized what she was doing again. Just like at the party, Judy was quoting some verses from a play of hers and it almost seemed like she was challenging him to reply to prove his brags were true. He saw all of her plays even when it meant sitting up on the theatre roof and listening through the vents. Taking a breath, Roger softly responded, "If mine lips spoke not the truth for thee, then I truly do not deserve thine love. However, if in fact all that is required is but a kiss, then let me partake in the sweet wine which is yours."  
  
Judy just stared up at him and trembled slightly. He honestly did know her plays. All his bragging really was true and his loyalty and support to her dramatics were now obvious. "You truly are my soul mate," she breathed, tenderly touching the side of his face finally realizing his sincerity.  
  
"I'm glad," he replied gently and took her lips in his giving her a kiss he's been burning to give to her ever since he woke this morning. At first Judy stiffened from his actions, but quickly relaxed and allowed the kiss to happen. After all, what they did last night there was no turning back and something like a passionate kiss certainly wasn't going to be rejected now.  
  
As Judy draped her arms around his neck, she felt him pulling at her skirt, not to take it off, but to coax her to sit on his lap. She obliged without protest and that got a satisfied sigh from the rich bully. Judy settled close on him, her legs straddling his. "Better?" she asked, tenderly caressing the back of his head.  
  
He nodded and gave her a smirk, "Oh yeah, much better." He rubbed her hips and pushed her down against him making her softly gasp. "Ya know, we could do that encore performance you mentioned earlier. I could always make the driver go an alternate route home, a much longer route."  
  
The very idea sent a shudder down Judy's spine, but she couldn't allow that to happen in the limo, not now anyway. The drive to Mrs. Keane's house wasn't that long from what she could remember so anything they would do now would definitely be rushed and probably not that fulfilling. Giving him a kiss that she allowed to linger instead of deepen, Judy quietly replied, "As difficult as it is for me to turn down a return to stage, I believe I shall have to reject it this time."  
  
She almost felt Roger slump, but he didn't show it he just shrugged. "Eh, not a problem, girly."  
  
She shushed him though, putting a finger to his lips. "Shh...do not fret my young rogue. There is a time and a place for everything and all though tempting right now I believe we just save our heated passions for a more suitable time. As for now, we don't have to stop. I mean, we used to just make out without the burdened thoughts of love making weighing us down, right?"  
  
He thought about that for a moment then nodded. She was right for many a time they would get into heated kisses and touches, but they never lead to anything like they did last night so now didn't have to be any different then those times. Still, Judy was one for teasing him, almost enjoying the new power she had over her man. Pushing down and rubbing against him was as far as she intended to do things right now. Making out was good enough, but it did take all she had to control herself and not allow things to happen like last night.  
  
Roger sharply inhaled and held her closer, his hands gliding over her back and down to her hips where he pushed her against him making them both moan with the sensations. Judy felt him shudder under her, but she had to ignore it although it was beginning to be more and more difficult. Hoping to distract their eager lower bodies, Judy deeply kissed him, her tongue probing his mouth, entwining with his. That seemed to be the distraction she needed because now Roger was way more interested in getting back to the basics.  
  
Nothing needs to change, Judy thought to herself. All we did was strengthen our bonds, it's not what is going to keep the relationship together, only enhance it. A gentle nudging off of Roger's lap then distracted her thoughts. She cracked open her eyes and was just about to ask why he was removing her, but he cut off her words with another deep kiss and guided her to the corner of the limo's back seat. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and pressed his body close against hers.  
  
Judy relaxed against the soft seat with a sigh and caressed the back of his neck and kept him as close as she possibly could, relishing the kiss. They seemed to lose all track of time, and all though neither of them wanted to end what they were doing, the course of the limo decided their fate for them and pulled to a stop in front of the Funnie family household in what seemed all too soon. Roger looked up over the door wondering why they stopped and he let out a defeated sigh seeing Judy's house.  
  
"Why'd we stop?" Judy questioned, not being able to see by her position and by Roger hovering over her blocking out the view out of the other window.  
  
"Yer home," he muttered sourly and pushed himself back onto the seat. Judy quickly sat up and turned to look out the window then back to Roger.  
  
"Well, that was quick, wasn't it?" she replied with almost the same bitter tone that Roger had. Shaking her head she reached forward and got her cowgirl hat off the floor and straightened up her hair before plunking it back down on her head.  
  
"Master Klotz, you are at the Funnie residence," the chauffeur's voice droned over the intercom.  
  
"Yeah, yeah I know! Stay where you are, I'll get the door myself," Roger snarled and slammed his fist down on the conference button so the driver wouldn't interrupt anymore. "Sorry, girly," he said softly, reaching around her to get to the door.  
  
After Judy finished pushing her sunglasses back up on her nose, she grabbed his arm to stop him from opening the door so quickly. "I know my plebeian family is either going to burst open the front door soon as they see me or my little brother is going to be gawking from someplace and I'd rather not have a long, drawn out conversation with you out there."  
  
He nodded and sat back, pushing his hat back and arched his eyebrows. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Being stared at when yer talking is annoying."  
  
Turning again to make sure that no one was standing in the doorway waiting for her to come out, Judy softly said, "I had a fantastic time last night. I think it was the best time I ever had, well, ever."  
  
Roger smiled and blushed slightly,"Y-yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. Thanks for going with me last night and thanks for not getting mad at me and for letting things go how they went."  
  
"You're not so bad as you pretend, Roger. Just don't stop being yourself, though. I will still like hearing your insults and sarcasm, that's what pretty much started attracting me to you in the first place," she smirked, giving him a wink.  
  
He stared at her. "I thought it was my artistic talents?"  
  
"That too, my young rogue, but don't worry about mundane things now. I'm completely yours...now, let's go before Doug gets the entire Bluffington police force out here thinking you kidnapped me or something."  
  
Roger snickered and opened the door and climbed out of the limo and held it open for Judy. She took his hand and walked a few feet up the path leading to the house. When she stopped to look at him she noticed a movement coming from the upstairs window. Glancing up she spotted Doug's face in the window for a fleeting moment before disappearing behind the curtain. Leaning to Roger she whispered, "There's a little hedge pig watching us. Let's give him something to chew on shall we?" Roger nodded and was about to lean forward and kiss her, but Judy pulled back and instead put one hand on his shoulder and the other grabbed him between his legs.  
  
He softly gasped and felt himself get all wishy-washy over her hold on him. "Oh man," he breathed, looking at her through half closed eyes.  
  
"Farewell my love, 'til we meet again and partake in the joy and rapture that last night has cast upon us. Think not of our departure as that, but rather as a time to reflect and gather up our strength for our next meet. Think of me, dear heart, for you shall surely be in my thoughts," and with that she gave him a loving kiss while sensuously massaging him between his legs.  
  
Her plan worked for she heard a thud come from upstairs inside the house so she knew Doug fell over and she figured she'd hear about this later on, but she didn't care. In fact, she was starting to find it difficult to stop not only the kiss, but the massage as well. Fortunately for her, Roger proved to the be stronger of the two in this strange predicament and he did nothing to encourage her, but instead just stood docile and allowed her to rub him as long as she seemed fit.  
  
Reluctantly, Judy slowly pulled from his lips, but let them linger for a moment before pulling completely back. "Call me after 2PM won't you?" she whispered, giving his groin one last rub.  
  
He nodded and tried to swallow around the lump that seemed to have formed in his throat. "S-sure...whaddya wanna do?"  
  
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Now, go home and get things straightened up there and I shall anticipate your call." Judy gave him one last, quick kiss and headed towards the door. Roger silently watched her and when she gave him a wave and disappeared inside the house, the door closing behind her, was when he forced his legs to move him back to the limo.  
  
With a stifled groan, Roger sank against the soft corner of the limo's back seat while pulling the door shut behind him. Reaching over he flicked the switch on the hand rest that turned on the microphone so his chauffeur could hear his instructions. "Awright, I'm ready to go home now," he barked, but not with the same bite the driver was used to.  
  
"Yes, Master Klotz," the chauffeur droned and the limo began to move almost too quickly away from Judy's home.  
  
Rubbing the side of his face tiredly, Roger looked out the limo window at the Funnie house for any glimpse of Judy, but didn't see her. He only hoped that Doug wasn't going to annoy her much or he would have to step in and give the loser a good pounding, but then again he just might give him one anyway just for having his head in the window where it didn't belong.  
  
As Judy's home grew smaller Roger turned back around and closed his eyes, leaning his head against the back of the seat. He felt slightly lost without Judy at his side right now, after all, he spent almost an entire day with her, but these few hours apart wouldn't kill him. In fact, it gave him something to look forward to, absence does make the heart grow fonder as Judy would say, and he knew now that this was one role in Judy's play of life that he wasn't going to have a small role in and it was a role that was no doubt going to last for a long, long time to come.  
  
The End. 


End file.
